New Life
by Spacecore6676
Summary: With GLaDOS gone, Chell and Wheatley can finally get on with their normal, human life. That is, if you can call blowing up microwaves and Rick influencing Wheatley normal. However, when Chell has a baby on the way, can Wheatley really take human life? It's time for their bond to be tested... again. Sequel to New Light, but can be read separately. Contains Chelley.
1. Chapter 1

**AN/... So, the first chapter of my New Light sequel - New Life! If you haven't read New Light, you should still be able to understand this story but please read New Light anyway! And if you have read New Light, you'll know I'm a fan of saying enjoy!**

**Chapter 1 - Exploding Microwaves**

**Chell POV - **We were all sitting on the sofa, watching a film and drinking coke. Wheatley was on my left and Rick was next to him. Nobody was smashing the windows or juggling the plates. Why couldn't Wheatley and Rick be this calm all the time? Of course, when I say calm, I mean Rick was laughing raucously at the TV, Wheatley was laughing like a hyena on drugs, and I was being normal and simply chuckling like a sane person at the funny parts of the film. Wheatley's arm was around me as usual, and Rick's arms weren't around anyone. His were on his knees, since he had now actually doubled over laughing. Wheatley threw his head back, and a tear escaped his eye from the laughter. _Sheesh! Men! _I thought, rolling my eyes. Rick prodded Wheatley and they both leant their heads on each others shoulders, shaking with laughter.

"I'm tired, I'm gonna head off to bed. You guys, don't break anything," I warned, standing up and stretching out my leg which Wheatley had been sitting on for the past hour and a half. I really was exhausted, maybe that was why I didn't laugh so much at the film. Rick waved at me with a grin, and Wheatley pulled me onto his lap for a quick hug. I rubbed my cheek along his soft blonde hair, on the verge of falling asleep right there. Wheatley nuzzled into my neck before releasing me, and I stumbled to my bedroom on cloud nine. If it's possible, I think I grow to love Wheatley more and more every day. With a happy sigh, I got ready for bed and fell asleep straight away. The bed felt horrible and empty without Wheatley next to me, and I hoped I wouldn't get nightmares.

**Rick POV - **that hilarious film had to come to end at some point, and as the end credits rolled, I felt a twinge of sadness. It was lonely at my house, all alone. I felt more at home here than I did in my own house, which was stupid.

"What shall we do now?" Wheatley suddenly asked, grinning. Phew, I was allowed to stay longer.

"Let's get something to eat, I'm starving."

"Sure, come on!" Wheatley led me into his kitchen excitedly. He was so optimistic and cheerful all the time it was almost annoying. He flicked on the light switch, and a warm, bright kitchen complete with a dining table became illuminated. Wheatley opened the fridge and cupboards, to show me all the options. They had enough food to feed a large family, and there was only two of them. I guessed Wheatley must eat a lot, he always seemed to steal _my_ crisps and biscuits at _my _house.

"We can't use the oven," he told me, though I had no idea why. I decided to ask him.

"Because last time I used an oven, I burned my house down, literally. That was the reason I had to move in with Chell in the first place," I couldn't help but snort at this tale.

"You burned the house down... By cooking..." I said slowly. When he nodded, I burst out laughing.

"It's not funny!" he wailed, looking embarrassed and distressed. As funny as this story is, Wheatley's my best friend, so my tormenting should only go so far.

"Sorry, so what should we make?" I asked him, a ghost of a smile playing on the edge of my lips.

"I dunno, let's just stick some pie in the microwave or something,"

I grabbed the box holding a delicious looking apple pie, and removed the cardboard. The pie sat in a little tinfoil container, and I placed it in the open microwave.

"Shouldn't we read the cooking instructions on the box first?" Wheatley asked, sounding worried.

"Nah, instructions are for wusses! Anyway, it's a microwave, you just put a few minutes on the number thingy and press the start button and wait! How hard can it be?"

"For us, very very difficult," Wheatley groaned, but allowed me to continue. I typed three minutes onto the timer display, closed the microwave door, and pressed the big start button.

"C'mon Rick, let's go play footie whilst we wait!" suddenly Wheatley's favourite, slightly abused football landed in my arms. I looked up at him, grinning like mad, and smiled back.

"Okay, but in the garden, I don't wanna get in Chell's bad books again, she didn't dig us playing indoor baseball last time," I replied, opening the back door leading out into the moonlit night.

"The window didn't dig it either." we both burst out laughing, that was a good one coming from Wheatley.

Kicking a ball around, we didn't notice the strange sparking coming from the microwave, or the odd crackling noise it was making. We didn't realise the damage we'd done till it was too late, and we were startled by a deep bang. I whipped around, to see the microwave flickering and sparking. The door was hanging off its hinges, and the pie was burnt to a crisp, with all the filling bubbling in steaming piles dotted around the inside. _Great, so much for staying in Chell's good books. _We ran into the kitchen, ditching the football in the muddy gloom. As soon as I touched the microwave, the door clattered to the floor and another spark flew from it. I unplugged the completely broken machine with a sigh.

"I'll go check on Chell, to see if we woke her. If we didn't then maybe we can fix it before morning and she'll never know," Wheatley said, surprisingly calm. We weren't about to break out in argument this time, by the looks of things. I gingerly lifted the microwave door, and inspected it. There was no way we could ever fix this microwave. A burning smell filled the room like deadly smoke, and I breathed shallowly so I didn't have to inhale so much of the stench. Suddenly, I had a good idea. I would tell Wheatley to go to bed, and 'fix' the microwave myself. Although my fixing will consist of buying a new one. This was a brilliant plan, there was absolutely no way it could go wrong! Also, just to add to the awesomeness of the plan, Wheatley will think I'm an amazing mechanic when I'm only a very good one! It was flawless!

**Wheatley POV - **I slowly opened the bedroom door, careful to stop it creaking. Chell was tied up in knots with the sheets, writhing around the bed. I felt instantly guilty for not going to bed with her, because now she was having nightmares. Sitting next to her on the matress, I began to slowly stroke her hair. When that did nothing, I lay down next to Chell, and pulled the nightmare ridden woman into my arms. She began to struggle and kick against me, and I figured since she was asleep she'd probably have trouble identifying me.

"Chell, luv, it's me, Wheatley," I whispered gently into her soft ear. That stopped her kicking my shins and pushing away. Instead, Chell snuggled into me, grabbing me around my waist and locking her hands.

"You're okay, it's just a dream, not real," I murmured to the still sleeping girl, who seemed to be in a nightmare by her shallow breathing and slightly sweating body.

"What's really happening, right, is you're at home, in bed, fast asleep, and I'm lying next to you hugging you. Rick's downstairs fix- erm... Playing football, and GLaDOS is disabled. Nobody is in Aperture anymore to wake her up, so She can never ever bother us again. We're going to be safe for the rest of our lives. I won't let anyone hurt you, I promise."

Chell buried her face into my shirt, and curled her knees up so they rested on my thighs. Her hands were clasping the back of my shirt so tightly, she obviously didn't want me to go again. Rick would have to fix the bloody microwave by himself, and to be fair he's the one that broke it in the first place. I fished my mobile out of my pocket, and opened a new text.

_'Chell needs me upstairs. She having nightmare. Fix microwave yourself. See you tomorrow. Sorry.'_

I sent it to him, then put the phone on the bedside table and pulled Chell closer to me, enveloping her with my warmth and safety. Eventually, Chell's body relaxed completely. Her nightmare was over. I calmed down instantly, relieved of my worry, and fell asleep too.

Bright mid-morning sunshine slipped through the crack in the curtains, and cut across my face. I awoke suddenly, annoyed by the sharp intruder. I groaned, and turned my head into the comforting darkness of the pillow. Chell was still clinging to me, breathing softly against my chest. Chell was lying on one of my arms, the other wrapped around her waist. We were interlocking, so I stayed still as to not wake Chell. However, she was still fast asleep half an hour later, and I slowly began to untangle myself. Even as I stood up and left the room, Chell didn't stir. She must have been exhausted.

I swiftly walked down the stairs, through the dim hallway and front room, to investigate what state Rick left the microwave in. I nearly cried out in shock as I turned the corner into the kitchen, and found Rick fast asleep, his head resting on the worktop. I inclined my head, to investigate the microwave. It was white, clean, and looked brand new. I fiddled with the door and buttons, everything worked. It was like a miracle had zapped Rick and turned him into a super mechanic. I gave him a little shake, and he jumped into an upright position.

"What are you doing?" I questioned, confused to as why he was sleeping in our kitchen.

"Must've fallen asleep whilst fixing this," Rick muttered, patting the microwave as if holding some affection for it, like a normal human would a pet. I shook my head, bemused, and interrupted his petting of the microwave.

"Thanks for fixing it, anyway, it looks great!"

"Nah, it was nothing," he smiled modestly. "Let's try not to annihilate this one."

I laughed. "Yeah, that would be good."

"Man, you need to sort out your hair," he said to me, making my hands automatically clap onto my head.

"Joking, it looks fine," he laughed at my expression. "Awh, you should have seen your face! Classic!"

At that exact moment, Chell came into the kitchen, smiling slightly. Her hair was wet and she was wearing daytime clothes, so I assumed she had a quick shower before coming downstairs to find me.

"Whoa, Rick you're here early. Not having one of your monster lie-ins?" Chell turned to me, and smiled.

"Morning luv," I said, opening my arms for a hug. She delivered it instantly, just like we did every morning one of us got up before the other.

"I popped round, to ask if you guys wanted to have a guitar hero tournament with me. Despite the fact you know I'll win," Rick said smugly.

"Bullshit! I always beat you!" I retaliated, using the word Rick said so often when he thought people weren't telling the truth. In fact, Rick had taught me a lot of new vocabulary, under the categories swearing and slang. I was happy to be able to use it in some context for once,

"He has a point," Chell added with a grin."Wheatley always beats us, I mean he does play real guitar after all."

"Today is the day that all changes, my friend," Rick punched my shoulder gently. I returned the gesture.

"Bring it on!"

Twenty eight songs later, Chell laughed as I thrashed Rick again and again. I was playing on expert, and he was playing on medium, yet I still could win every round. This game was simple to me, compared to playing a real acoustic guitar.

"When are you going to give up?" I questioned, as my fingers shot up and down the multicoloured buttons with speed and accuracy.

"Why would I give up when I'm about to win?" Rick moved to nudge me with his guitar, but I dodged, predicting that he would attack.

"You're not about to win!" I cried, achieving 100% on the song - again. I couldn't help but laugh, Rick's 82% seemed measly in comparison.

"Competitive much?" Chell raised her eyebrows at us with an amused smile. We both shrugged in unison, and continued bashing the guitars with the sheer force of our competitive drive.

Another three songs after that, Rick gave up due to getting stiff fingers. They seemed permanently fixed in claw positions, and I chuckled.

"Next weekend, I'm going to beat you at something Wheatley, just you wait." Rick grinned, and all I could imagine was a villain laughing evilly. It was a pretty scary image, and I didn't like the thought of being on Rick's tiny hit list of people who could beat him at something. Whatever he had planned, I doubted it would end well... For me.

**AN/... First chapter's up! I hope you liked it =/ please follow/favourite/review =D**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN/... Chapter 2 =D sorry if you notice any grammatical mistakes because I'm not very good at grammar, and if their are typos then I probably just missed them when I proofread the chapter, sorry =/. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 2 - the theme park**

**Wheatley POV - **

"Are you sure I have to do this?" I said timidly, quivering with fear. A 40m tall vertical drop towered over me, and loop the loops and corkscrews and God knows what else writhed around me like a snake, all attached to the same bloody roller coaster.

"Awh, stop being a baby!" Rick told me, pulling me into the all too short ride queue. I grabbed Chell's hand for reassurance, as we stepped into the dark cabin where unsuspecting victims had to get on the ride. I gulped. Why did I let Rick show off his flashy new driving license by taking us on a surprise day trip? I knew he lived on the extreme side! I knew he would take us somewhere that would scare me! The worst thing was, both Chell and Rick weren't scared, and I was petrified! Rick jumped onto the ride, pulling the restraint over his body with more force than necessary. I clambered on next, shakily strapping the restraint over my body and already gripping the handles for dear life, turning my knuckles white. Chell strapped herself in next, and the assistant gave a yank on each of our harnesses before we jolted out of the station.

"Hell yeah!" cried Rick loudly, punching the air. How was he not holding on? Chell laughed, and patted me reassuringly on the arm, as the roller-coaster began to slowly climb the steep slope to our doom.

"Why did I let you drag me on this?" I yelled, as the coaster slowly straightened. I could see the whole park, but not even the view could calm me. I gripped the handles even tighter with my clammy hands, and jammed my eyes shut. The cart slowly teetered off the edge of the drop, and suddenly we were plummeting towards the ground at an abnormally fast speed. I felt like my stomach had been abandoned at the top of the ride, however the feeling was slightly bearable. As we spun upside-down, I gritted my teeth, feeling like I was going to scream. I swore I was about to fall out of the car. I risked opening my eyes, only to find myself staring at the ground behind us. The drop went in on itself, like an implosion. I looked over at Chell, who was smiling and laughing. Then I glanced at Rick, who's hands were high above our heads. He was shouting insults at the unsuspecting people we passed over the top of, and all around just acting like we weren't on the biggest free-fall roller-coaster in the country.

"That ride was for babies!" Rick cried as we exited the dim shelter onto the main path again. My legs were shaking, and I tried to stop them, embarrassed.

"That ride was fun," Chell smiled at me, grabbing my hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "But we should go on a smaller ride now, for a laugh," I almost sighed with relief. I'd have to thank Chell later for saving me.

"Let's go on 'Perilous Plummet'!" Rick said, already charging off. That doesn't sound good, I thought hesitantly. It's perilous, and it's a plummet, not my sort of thing. I followed anyway, it kept Rick happy, and Chell seemed to be enjoying herself.

Perilous Drop. A huge cave, with blood writing on the outside. A fake skeleton with flashing red eyes stood outside the entrance.

"Err, we shouldn't go in there," I gulped. "It says 'enter at your peril' on the outside. In blood."

"It's not real blood mate," Rick said, patting my back. As surprised as I was at his sympathy, that wasn't my issue.

"I know it's not real blood, but symbols and bad omens and all that," I said in a submissive voice. I was fighting a battle I'd already lost.

"Come on, you'll be fine mate," Rick put his arm round me, and led me to be submerged in darkness. Dim lights showed us where to sit and nothing else. I collapsed in the seat next to Chell, pulled my restraint on, and grabbed the handles. Although this time was different. Chell prised my hand off of the metal, and held it. I felt instantly comforted. I'll be fine, it's just a ride, I thought determinedly. Hundreds of people go on this ride every day, and everyone comes out again perfectly fine. However, despite my optimistic mindset, when the cart lurched forwards, I immediately wished I was elsewhere.

I looked up at the ceiling, only to find that it was covered in fake cobwebs and spiders with red and yellow eyes. It was irrational for me to feel fear, we weren't upside-down or falling down vertical drops, we were just slowly chugging through a dark tunnel with most likely plastic spiders above me. I'm not even scared of spiders!

"I wish I still had my flashlight," I groaned aloud.

"Yeah, but you die if you turn them on, so it's slightly pointless," Rick replied.

"Well, before, Chell and I were stuck in complete darkness, couldn't see a thing, so I decided to risk turning it on, and I didn't die! It didn't even hurt! The scientists must have lied for some reason," I felt proud for discovering something before Rick did, and despite my surroundings I couldn't help but smile.

"Huh, really? Wow that's pretty brave, Wheatley," I was gob smacked, there was a hint of admiration in Rick's usually arrogant voice.

It was this elevated feeling I felt from the pride, that caused me to feel less scared when we nearly crashed into a coffin, or had red eyes following us along the dark tracks. Rick kept leaning out of the car to touch the models, and practically squealed with excitement when his hand returned full to the brim with a fake spider and some elastic cobwebs. It was like he was a kid sometimes, in fact mentally I think he is. I was actually enjoying this ride, glad it seemed to have lied about the 'perilous plummet'. That was until a dim spotlight illuminated eerie red paint on the wall. I looked at it closely, and there was an arrow pointing off to the left. Sprawling writing carefully depicted the phrase 'going down'. Oh great, I thought sarcastically. The ride didn't lie at all, we swerved around the sharp left bend, and dropped to our doom through the dark. When I saw the dead body laying at the bottom of this pit, I couldn't help myself from screaming. Rick laughed, and Chell squeezed my hand in an attempt to comfort me. Of course, later that day I realised my fear was again, irrational, and there was no way it was a real body. At the time though, it seemed pretty real, as we swung around it at the very last millisecond, and made the now seemingly gentle climb upwards, towards the station.

Rick shoved the spider and cobweb into his pocket, so the ride staff wouldn't catch us. Thank God that ride is over, I thought queasily whilst we tumbled into bright sunshine again.

"I can't believe you screamed like a girl on that ride," Rick suddenly burst out laughing.

"I did not! It wasn't as high pitched as a female's scream!" I tried to sound brave, but my voice quivered halfway through.

"Whatever scaredy-cat! I wish I could have recorded it!" I gave Rick a semi-playful shove, and he returned it twice as violently. Chell picked up the slightly hostile atmosphere, and pulled me back.

"Guys stop it, what ride shall we go on next?"

I sighed in relief when I realised that the next queue line was really really long, so I could have a break from being flung around nearly fifty meters in the air. Okay, that was an exaggeration. But the thought still stands. Rick was trying to put the elastic cobweb in Chell's hair, and she was scrabbling at her scalp to remove them all. With her signature jump, Chell leapt high into the air and planted the cobweb on my head, giggling helplessly. I picked it out of my hair, and joined in the laughter, putting it in Rick's chocolate brown spikes. It looked comical, tangled between the gelled strands in a ragged curling pattern. Rick threw the plastic spider at me, and I stumbled backwards. I grabbed the battered spider off the ground and shoved it down the back of Rick's t-shirt. As he wriggled around trying to fish it out, Chell and I teased him relentlessly. Today wasn't so bad after all, along as we spend the rest of the day in queue lines.

After a few minutes of looking sullen, Rick finally decided to join in our laughter, and left the spider and its cobweb attached to the fence for some poor arachnophobe to discover. He then decided to deliberately point out that there was a bird I had failed to notice until now right by my foot.

"ARGH! BIRD! BIRD!" I shouted hysterically, hiding behind Chell with an anxious expression. Everyone turned to look at me, and I felt my cheeks pool with red. Rick guffawed at me, Chell scared the bird away, and I hid like a little toddler afraid of the monster under the bed. Rick can be such a jerk sometimes. Surprisingly, I actually felt relieved when we got on the ride, it meant I could escape the judging eyes of the people around us. I think I was getting a bit more used to the sensation of roller coasters now, at any rate.

And so, the day carried on in pretty much the same way. We went on rides, I got scared, Chell and Rick loved them, and I desperately avoided anything that might trigger Rick's relentless teasing. I was kind of happy when the day came to an end, and we piled back into Rick's car for the journey home. This time I sat on the back seat, next to Chell, since I was still reluctant to let go of her hand. I wrapped my arm around her, and Rick zoomed off. His driving was truly insane, I have no idea how he passed the test.

"Please don't start making out in the back of my car," Rick warned, as I kissed Chell's soft hair absent-mindedly. I looked up, not understanding.

"You what? What's make out?" I asked Rick, leaning forward with interested anticipation.

"Jeez, you don't know?" Rick asked, sounding slightly worried. "I feel sorry for your girlfriend." he added harshly. Well that just ruined the kindly touch. Chell was frowning slightly, and she interrupted. "We really do not need this awkward conversation right now!"

"Haha, yes we do! This is bad, Wheatley needs to know, it's an emergency!"

"You gotta tell me now, after taunting me with the expression you both know so well," I added, clearly taking Rick's side.

"Fine, don't blame me when he freaks you out," she replied, leaning back against the seat and rubbing her temples.

"Making out, my friend, is like kissing, but you add a bit of touching each other up and tongues,"

"Eh?" he might as well have been speaking in a different language, I had no idea what he was talking about.

"Touching each other up is where you touch each others-"

"Rick! Shut up and concentrate on driving rather than giving Wheatley biology lessons!" Chell suddenly interrupted, giving the now laughing driver a gentle whack around the back of the head. I sat back in my seat, non-the-wiser and defeated. I guess I'll never find out what making out is. Rick acted like it was important for me to know.

Just like the big kid I was, I sulked for the rest of the journey, and it took Chell half the evening to get me to stop. By this time, we were sitting on the sofa in our front room, and Rick had long since gone home. I wanted to know what making out was! Why wouldn't anyone tell me? Whoever said ignorance is bliss has no idea.

"Please tell me Chell?" I begged for the hundredth time.

"No, I don't want to have to explain it to you."

I rolled my eyes and sighed, crossing my arms defiantly. Her expression melted slightly, and I suddenly saw a way I might be able to weaken her. I pulled Chell into my arms and kissed her. She pulled away from my mouth with a smile playing on her lips.

"That's not going to work," she said, kissing my nose gently. "You'll find out one day, when the time is right. I promise."

**AN/... Sorry it was a kinda short chapter, but the next one should be updated today as well, since I've nearly finished it haha! Please review =') **


	3. Chapter 3

**AN/... Chapter 3 now, thanks for all the reviews, I'm really happy people like this so far ^.^ and as always, enjoy!**

**Chapter 3 - Building a House**

**Wheatley POV - **It had been a few days since the theme park epidemic, and I decided I'd forgiven Rick enough to pay him a visit later, after Chell left for work. But for the moment, I concentrated on stretching like a cat across the bed, and watching through sleepy eyes as Chell bustled around the room collecting her work clothes. I yawned and rolled over, falling asleep again. Mornings weren't my cup of tea. I vaguely remember Chell saying goodbye, and the faint slam of the front door below as I slipped in and out of consciousness.

The next time I woke up, it was midmorning and I decided to heave myself from the comfy bed. I groggily tumbled around the house, having a shower, getting dressed then roughly combing my hair. I grabbed a bowl of Cheerios, not bothering to make a balanced breakfast like Chell does at the weekends. Cheerios were good enough for me. I turned on the radio automatically as I passed it on my way to the sofa, and plonked into my usual seat with a happy sigh and a mouthful of milky Cheerios. Just another regular week day, where I could devote hours to do pretty much whatever I wanted. Munching my way through cereal was just the beginning.

With a burst of energy working its way up inside me, I put the now empty bowl in the dishwasher and returned to my humble position on the sofa. The familiar craving to play my guitar hit me, and I grabbed the old battered case from its corner with a grin, removing my trusty acoustic guitar and placing it on my knee, ready to play. I juggled with random melodies for a while, then began to piece bits together till I had a short composition. My fingers began to pluck the guitar strings with speed yet precision, and my miniature song came to life. I smiled, making a mental note to perform it to Chell later.

After writing down my composition, I played songs I already knew, just for the sake of it. For some of them, I sang along, despite the fact I'm an awful vocalist. Nobody was around to judge my voice at the moment, so I had complete freedom to sing my heart out. I play my guitar with a lot of passion, so the noise that comes out of it is always strong and loud. I could've done that for hours, however, I did tell myself I would visit rick today, so I should really. With a sigh, I put my instrument back in its hard case and pulled on my favourite shoes - my converses. I grabbed my mobile and keys expertly, flipping them in the air before placing them in my pocket, and walked into the bright morning sunshine. The sky was blue, the grass was green and the clouds were absent. Perfect. I didn't have the chance to stay outside for long though, because I soon found myself walking up Rick's front path and knocking on the door boldly.

"Hi," Rick said, opening the door for me to come in. I stepped inside his dark house with a grin. As long as he didn't force me onto any extreme roller coasters today, I'm happy to be with my best friend again. My only friend really, apart from Chell, but she's more like a girlfriend. I shook my head, shaking myself out of my daydream. I fought the urge to call Chell, and instead followed Rick into his cluttered front room, narrowly avoiding falling over an upturned skateboard.

"So, how've you been?" Rick asked me, throwing some tennis balls off the sofa and sitting down with a light thud.

"Not too bad, I wrote a new song today," I sat beside him. "You?"

"I went swimming yesterday, and jumped off the highest diving board, it was awesome! We should go together sometime though, it was a bit lonely by myself," I shrugged, my version of an unspoken maybe. In truth, I've never been swimming before, and I don't really know how. I would die of embarrassment if Rick found out I was a grown man and couldn't swim.

"Hey, I discovered something really fun the other day! Come with me!" Rick suddenly exclaimed, charging off into his garden. I followed, nervous at what dangerous activity he'd have me doing next. The garden was full of wooden planks, and I dodged around them, my expression one of confusion and anxiety. Rick ran up to the giant tree at the bottom of his garden, and jumped, pulling himself up onto the lowest branch. He scampered up the tree like a monkey, and pulled himself through a square hole in the wooden floor he'd obviously built prior to my visit about eight metres above the ground. Rick stood up, and beckoned for me to join him.

I'd never climbed a tree before, I had no idea whether it was dangerous or not, but I found it reasonably easy due to my abnormally tall height. I wasn't as fast as Rick, but I made it onto the wooden platform with no injuries. Also on the wooden platform was a large red box, holding a huge array of different tools.

"Do you wanna help me build a tree house?" Rick asked me, quivering slightly with excitement and anticipation.

"What's a tree house?" I asked warily, taking a few steps away from the edge.

"A little house... In a tree..."

"Sorry that was a silly question. Might as well, it would be safer than just this little wooden thing," I smiled, and picked up a piece of wood that was lying by my feet.

"Where shall we begin?"

All day. All day Rick had me climbing down the tree to grab planks of wood, then scrambling back up again precariously, one hand down. Occasionally he would ask me to construct part of a wall, and he allowed me to do all of the ceiling due to my height. It was tiring work, but when we both found the ground again to admire our handiwork, the tree house looked bloody brilliant. It wasn't so much a house, more of one large, wooden room suspended in the thick, strong upper branches of the tree. It had perfectly square, glassless windows, and a slightly sloped roof complete with waterproof covering to keep the rain out. I was proud of the roof, I think I did a pretty good job. Being as safety conscious as I like to try and be (although it was difficult when your best friend is as dangerous as Rick) I even built a little ladder up the smooth bark. The interior had been lined with blankets and pillows I borrowed from under my bed, and I had even stashed some food in there. We were all good to go.

As soon as we were seated comfortably inside our new den, Rick yanked a bottle of lemonade out of our food stash.

"Lets play spin the bottle!" he said, sounding excited and daring.

"What's spin the bottle?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. It better not be dangerous.

"We take it in turns to spin the bottle, and whoever it points at has to say either 'truth' or 'dare'. If I say truth, you get to ask me a question and I have to answer truthfully. If I say dare, you get to dare me to do anything you like. The same applies in a reversed situation, it'll be fun!"

"Okay," I agreed, making a note to always say 'truth'. Who knows what a Rick dare would be like.

The bottle landed on Rick first. He chose dare, and I dared him to pick truth, because I honestly didn't know what to tell him to do. He complained viciously, but obliged.

"Ermm... Question, question, question... I need a question. Errm... Hmm... Do you ever get scared when you do something dangerous?" I asked, wondering how such a daring person reacts in the face of very extreme risks.

"Pfft! Me, scared? Never!" he replied hesitantly. I detected a hint of a lie, but ignored it and passed the thought off as a figment of my imagination. Rick chuckled to himself, and spun the bottle. Conveniently for him, it landed on me. I refused to give him the satisfaction of daring me to do something life-threatening. He'd have me jumping out of the treehouse or something stupid like that.

"Truth," I said in my bravest monotone. I hoped he'd ask a question I wouldn't mind replying honestly to.

"Have you ever done it with Chell?" he asked, smiling slyly. My brows furrowed.

"Done what?" I asked cautiously.

"Oh my dear God, Wheatley do you even know what I mean?" Rick sighed with frustration. I shook my head.

"You know how animals make babies right?" he asked, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, of course, everyone does," I replied smugly. See, I know some things. I just didn't know where this question was headed.

"Well, humans do that too, but for pleasure," his voice was patronising, but I still felt confused.

"If that's for pleasure then how do they make babies?" I asked meekly.

"OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! Humans do that for BOTH! Seriously, you can be such a moron sometimes!"

"I am not a moron!" I replied, slightly annoyed. Rick just sighed, and took a huge swig from our spinning bottle. I figured he'd given up playing this with me.

After our extremely confusing conversation, I decided to call Chell, and disregard Rick's lesson completely. I had never done that with Chell, and Rick knows that. We don't have any children, so it's kind of obvious! Although the conversation did intrigue me. I wondered what it would be like to do that with Chell, and removed the image from my head quickly, since it made me feel very strange down below. Stupid human emotions, I had no idea what I just felt! Chell picked up on the third ring, and a smile appeared on my face.

"Hi, Chell, are you alright?" I asked the same question with every phone call.

"Yeah, I'm fine Wheatley, you don't have to ask me every time we're apart. What are you doing today - it better not involve you and Rick breaking our furniture!"

"Nope, I helped Rick build a massive tree-house in his garden, it's really awesome! Oh yeah, and I wrote a song for my guitar this morning," I told her proudly. Chell laughed.

"Be careful then, I have to go. Love you,"

"Love you too," my tone dropped an octave with my disappointment. Hearing Chell's voice only made me miss her more. The line went dead, she was gone.

Rick grabbed the phone out of my hand, laughing, and motioned to throw it through the hole in the floor. I yelped with shock, then reached out for my mobile. He laughed, and whipped it away from me, lowering it significantly so it was directly above the ladder.

"Give that back!" I laughed, and pinned Rick down. His head now lay where my phone was a second ago, and for a moment fear flashed across Rick's face. I helped him into a sitting position, still laughing, and lunged for my mobile, pocketing it successfully.

"Oi!" he complained, and tried to grab the phone again. I pushed him off me reflexively, and he narrowly missed the open trapdoor again. Rick then decided it was time for a wrestling match, and attacked me as fast as light. I tumbled across the floor, rolling into the wall with a horrific cracking noise. I groaned, pain dully throbbing in my side. I ignored the second cracking noise, too dazed to care when a small piece of wood fell from the ceiling onto my chest.

**Rick POV - **I might have taken it a bit too far this time. Wheatley was groaning in the corner, there was nothing majorly wrong with that in my eyes. What did matter was that a piece of the ceiling just fell off, and a large crack had appeared. Maybe it was my imagination, but the crack seemed to be growing. I stood up, and made my way over to Wheatley. Every creak that the floorboards emitted scared the hell out of me, and I gingerly sat down next to Wheatley. All of a sudden a screw fell from the roof onto my lap. I looked up, to see that all the screws were loose.

"You idiot Wheatley! You didn't tighten any of the screws! Come on, we need to get out of here before the roof falls and crushes us!" I tried to tell myself I wasn't afraid, and yanked Wheatley out of the corner. I stood up, pulling him with me.

"What do you mean, I didn't tighten the screws? They're screws, they tighten themselves don't they?"

"Of course they don't you complete and utter twit! Inanimate objects don't do that! Now come on, before you get us both killed!" I shouted, pushing him towards the ladder, hiding my fear with anger. Several more screws fell to the floor, and suddenly it was raining with dozens of the things. When Wheatley banged into the wall it must have sent a tremor up to the roof, which made all the loose screws fall. A plank of wood fell to the floor with a bone-crunching thud, and the floor shivered uneasily.

Wheatley shoved me onto the ladder quickly, putting my life before his own. I felt touched by the kind gesture, but now I feared for Wheatley's safety. Whilst on the ladder, below the first floor level, I could see the wood splintering off it where the planks' impact held such force. I heard another thud, then another, as the roof collapsed in on itself. Our treehouse fell to the ground, as the floor gave way, flinging Wheatley towards the floor at an alarming speed. I lunged for him, and grabbed his hand. He yelped, and tried to scramble onto the ladder with me. A piece of wood landed square in his stomach, and the impact knocked the rung I was gripping on the (Wheatley-made) ladder give way. Luckily I had made some downwards progress before I had to catch Wheatley, and it wasn't as far a fall to the ground as it could have been. It still hurt like hell though.

Wheatley landed with a thud a few metres from me, and groaned loudly.

"Owww," he moaned into the grass, rubbing his head and side simultaneously.

"You okay Rick?" he called across to me. At that exact millisecond, the final piece of our treehouse plummeted from its previous eight metre height, and landed across both my shoulders. I screamed in agony, hearing the crack as it crushed my collarbone. Wheatley got to his feet, and wobbled unstably over to me. I felt the wood being lifted off of me, it was a great relief.

"We are such idiots," I groaned, squinting in the suddenly too bright sunlight.

"Yeah, sorry," Wheatley whispered, kneeling beside me.

"Have you broken anything?"

"I think... I've broken my... Collarbone," I managed to say between sharp intakes of agonised gasps. I focused my eyes on Wheatley, and noticed a large scratch across his cheek.

"What about you?" I asked, concerned.

"Nah, nothing more than a few little scratches, it's you we need to worry about."

**Wheatley POV - **Okay, I had more than just a few scratches. I could feel a wet patch welling up on my side, and tried to turn inconspicuously so Rick wouldn't notice the blood rapidly appearing on my white shirt. It hurt a lot, and I realised it was probably quite deep. But I would have to deal with it, Rick had come out of this sustaining far worse injuries. I didn't know what to do, and it worried me. I could see him closing his eyes, and I wondered if I should let him black out or not. By the time I decided I shouldn't let him, Rick had been out for quite a while. No matter what I did, I couldn't wake him. Rick was still as a statue, and when I touched his arm gently, he was as cold and hard as marble. My eyes widened with fear, and I sank my hand into my pocket, searching for my phone. I needed to call an ambulance, and I needed to call one immediately. However, the inside of my pocket was lined with sharp glass shards and little bits of metal. When I lifted my hand, it returned full of a completely crushed phone. I threw it across the garden angrily, then practically pulled my hair out with stress and frustration. I didn't know what to do. Rick was out cold, he could've been in a coma for all I knew, and my phone was definitely out of use.

"Don't go anywhere," I said to Rick, on the off chance that he could hear me and had the ability to stand up and walk. I turned from Rick's unnaturally broken body, and sprinted through the house, out of the front door, and down the street. People gave me strange looks, this wasn't the first time they've seen me covered in blood around here. Except last time I had just escaped Aperture with Chell, and had much worse injuries, like a punctured chest and deep knife slashes on both hands.

Out of breath and panting like a dog, I rounded the corner into my old street. They had rebuilt the house I previously burned down, and it was now for sale. I charged straight past it, and into the nursery where Chell worked. Barging in, I found myself surrounded by little kids playing with toys and running around. All of a sudden, they stopped, and looked at me with fear and confusion. I dodged around the little humans, embarrassed, and found my way to Chell, who was playing cars with some little blonde haired boy. The boy glanced up at me, and smiled. I returned the kind gesture, then began talking in a rush.

"Chell, something awful has happened! You know I was in the treehouse with Rick? Well it fell down and Rick's unconscious and I can't wake him and I tried to ring an ambulance but my phone got smashed when I fell and I've cut my side pretty badly I think, well it's bleeding a lot to say the least! I came to you because I didn't know what to do!"

Chell's expression turned to one of worry, and she opened and closed her mouth several times before she actually managed to speak.

"Wheatley why didn't you use the house phone?"

"Didn't know we had one. Anyway so what should I do?"

"Stay here a second, I'll ask my boss if I can leave work early, then we'll run home and call the emergency services at Rick's so we will be with him when the ambulance arrives." and with that Chell swiftly strode across the nursery, and knocked hastily on one of the side doors before entering.

I sat down next to the little boy with a sigh, my side hurting quite a lot now.

"What's your name?" the young boy asked me shyly, tapping my elbow to get my attention.

"Wheatley," I replied with a weak smile. This kid seemed quite friendly, and didn't treat me like a weirdo.

"I'm Tommy," he said, smiling toothily back. I noticed he had two front teeth missing, and I wondered who punched them out. Seemed a bit extreme, he's only about four.

"Hi Tommy, what are you playing then?" I asked curiously, picking up a tiny little toy car.

"I'm playing racing, you have to push the car as hard as you can and whoever's car goes the furthest wins," Tommy explained carefully, having a bit of difficulty with his speech. Inspecting the car, I held it upside-down and opened and closed the little doors. What an odd custom, humans really are a strange species.

"Will you play with me?" he asked suddenly. "Chell's gone so I can't play with her anymore."

"Sure," I said, turning my toy car the right way up and shoving it across the room. It went pretty far, and I felt quite proud. Tommy looked up at me with awe, as he released his car. It managed to clear about half the distance of mine.

"Wow you're better than Chell at this," Tommy observed, laughing slightly. I smiled at him, and vowed to let him win this round. I mildly tapped the car after Tommy released his second one, letting the young boy win. His grin was infectious. We played toy cars companionably, and even started a conversation at the same time.

"Is that blood?" Tommy asked curiously, pointing to the red splashes on my shirt.

"No, it's... Err... Red paint," I replied, not wanting to scare him.

"Are you Chell's boyfriend?"

"Yeah, I am," I smiled dreamily.

"My mum has a boyfriend, but he's mean to me. You're not mean,"

For a second, anger blinded me. What sort of man would be mean to such a nice little boy? I then felt privileged that this little boy didn't instantly judge me, since he'd had a bad experience already.

"Why, thank you. If he's ever mean to you again, you tell me, alright? I'll fix it for you,"

"Really?" Tommy exclaimed happily, and he gave me a hug. Well tried to, I was far too tall for his little arms to reach around me. The sentiment was still there, and I hugged him back. I was glad to make a new friend, even if it was just a little human. At least he didn't judge me like the adults do.

All of a sudden, Chell came out of what I assumed was her boss' office and made a beeline for me.

"Say goodbye to Wheatley, Tommy, we have to leave now," she told the disappointed child, pulling me onto my feet impatiently. I ruffled Tommy's hair, and we exchanged our farewells.

"See you around," I told him casually, turning for the door. I vaguely recalled him saying 'I hope so'.

After another long run, we made it back to Rick's house, and found him in exactly the same position. Well, almost the same position. He looked even paler, and blood was trickling out of his mouth. I prayed there was a cut on his mouth, and it wasn't internal bleeding. Chell dialled 999 on her mobile, whilst I sat cross legged next to Rick. I wiped the blood from his mouth, his skin was as cold as ice. There was no cut. Internal bleeding. _This is all my fault, I'm such a moron. I put everyone in danger just by being near them, I truly am still a monster, even after all these years. Rick might be dying, or at least seriously hurt, and it was all my fault. _I felt my heart drop to the centre of the earth, dragging my smile with it. Rick's eyes weren't quite closed, and a thin slit of green reflected from his eyes in the bright sunlight, turning his eyelashes and lower eyelid emerald. I sighed miserably, and looked down into the dirt until I heard a loud siren pulling up outside our house. I looked up at Rick, and saw he already had more blood trickling from his mouth. His breathing seemed shallower too, getting slower with every exhale. I wiped away a lone tear with a new, brave set to my expression. It was time to face the consequences of my idiocy.

**AN/... Chapter 3 complete! I hope it was alright? Sorry to put such a serious chapter in so early in the story, but I need to get that idea out of the way so I can get onto better ones later on... Including a baby ^.^ please review, they are such inspiration and motivation for me =D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 - Not Another Hospital**

**Wheatley POV - **I sat on an uncomfortable hospital bed whilst a doctor was poking around the cut on my side. Chell was watching anxiously, despite the fact I kept smiling to reassure her. Rick lay across the hospital bed next to mine, having just got back from the X-ray room. His neck was in a brace and I found it difficult to not laugh. Inhaling sharply, I turned to look at my side. It had been cleaned, and the actual cut wasn't so bad. Maybe about five inches long and not too deep. I sighed, annoyed. I wanted to go home, even if that meant not having my wound treated.

"I have to go for a minute, stay here," the doctor emphasised the 'stay' because I had a history for trying to run away from hospitals. As soon as he left the room, I pulled on my shirt and stood up.

"Hey Rick, do you know what's wrong yet?" I called across the ward as I stretched my side out to test the flexibility of my wound.

"Yeah. I wasn't bleeding internally, when I fell I bit my tongue really hard, it was bleeding a lot. But that's healed up by itself now. I have a crack in my collarbone, and since I'm healthy I should heal quickly. I have to stay here for a few days, then I can go home as long as I wear this stupid neck brace for a week," he spoke in an agitated voice, tugging at the brace impatiently.

"Look, I'm getting out of here whilst I can, so I can't visit you," I said sympathetically, knowing Rick would understand as I grabbed Chell's hand. She complained and tried to pull me back but I was stronger. We were leaving.

"See ya then," Rick smiled to himself as I gave up, yanking myself free of Chell and speeding up significantly. I vaguely recall Chell shrugging to Rick, before jogging after me.

I attracted the attention of some doctors on my way out. Blood had started to show on my shirt again, and I kept looking around me nervously. I ignored the nurses that kept calling out 'sir are you alright?' and 'sir are you lost?' not even slowing down as I passed them. Hospitals scared me, and I liked to flee from the fear. I wasn't brave like Chell or Rick, and everyone should just accept that instead of forcing me into frightening situations. My instincts told me this place reeked of death and pain, and I didn't want to hang around for someone to inflict it on me. I froze, wide-eyed like a deer in the headlights, when I saw the same doctor that told me to stay in my ward standing right by the exit. It was almost as if he heard my deep gasp, because he looked up directly into my eyes and frowned. Slowly, he placed his clipboard down on the white desk and took a step forwards across the white tiles. I looked around, petrified, the white engulfing me. The death, the pain, the sterile colours covering every surface, I was in Aperture again.

_I stood in Her Chamber, trapped with no way out. Her laughter echoed around the room, sneaking up behind me, blowing into my eyes and ears like the wind and cutting into my ankles like snares. _

_"Back so soon?" she chuckled, the loose wires swinging from her towering frame like whips. "You honestly thought you could get away after ripping wires from my body and killing me?" I shook my head frantically, party answering her question, and partly in denial. Not here, not again. I couldn't cope with this place again. _

_I took a step backwards, only to land on something hard as a rock yet soft too. I whipped around, and that was when I saw the dead bodies. Scientists. Killed by neurotoxin. Murdered by Her. I saw some faces I recognised. They all had friends, family, lovers. They all had lives worth living. Everything gone, in a few minutes of Her sadistic tests and games and betrayal. I turned back to the now laughing super computer, fear coursing through my veins. The same could happen to me now I was human. Although knowing GLaDOS she would never let me out of the situation so easily._

_I felt Chell beside me, and pushed her behind me protectively. GLaDOS didn't like that, and a bladed claw swiped at me, slicing down across my eye and cheek. My hand flew up to hold my face in pain, and warm blood trickled through my fingers. She laughed at my pain, and threatened to cut me again. All I could do was flinch as her laugh echoed through the room again, following me... Haunting me..._

**Chell POV - **I had never seen somebody looking so scared and helpless as Wheatley did in that Hospital. His eyes were wide, he was shaking, and he couldn't move an inch. Tiny blonde hairs stood on end along the back of his smooth neck, and when I tapped him all I got was a flinch. Wheatley had never flinched from me before, something was very wrong. The doctor held his hands up, motioning to Wheatley he wasn't going to harm him. Slowly, the doctor approached, looking extremely worried and concerned. Everyone in the room could read his fear like a page on a book. Suddenly a flicker of recognition showed in his eyes, and he clenched his fists. That was the only movement he had made in about five minutes. I nearly cried out in shock when the doctor reached within a six feet radius of us, and just like a rabbit, Wheatley bolted. He ran at alarming speed, dodging the doctor, and charged out of the hospital nearly in tears, leaving me staring after him in the wake of his fight or flee instinct.

"Is you're boyfriend okay?" asked the doctor concernedly as he came over to me.

"I... Yeah... He's scared of hospitals," I muttered, walking around the doctor with a miserable sigh and beginning the lonely walk home alone. I knew I should be thinking of Wheatley, but all I could feel was the hurt that came with him leaving without me. I just wondered, if faced with danger would he wait for me? _That's stupid, of course he would! He rescued you from Aperture, didn't he?_ I thought, although I wasn't so sure. Suddenly, Wheatley seemed a million miles away, separated from any contact with me. With another sigh, I trudged towards home.

**Wheatley POV - **I collapsed onto the bed in a panting heap, having just ran home. At least I now know why I have a fear of hospitals, on a subconscious level they must have always reminded me of Aperture. Except today they triggered hallucinations. My hand slid along the huge bed, searching for Chell's hand, but came back empty. Then it finally dawned on me, I had left her behind. The memories surged back into my mind, Chell's shock and confusion and pure pain when I bolted and left her. According to my brain, I might as well have left her in Aperture. It just wasn't right on a moral level to leave somebody like that. My knees curled up to my chest, and I buried my face into my arms. I've betrayed her again.

I was having trouble separating hallucinations from reality. Was a sharp claw cutting into my flesh or was that just Chell tapping me? Was I really bleeding? Was the room cloudy with neurotoxin and full of my dead scientist friends? Every noise I heard in there my brain converted into Chell GLaDOS torturing us, anything disturbing associated with That Place was haunting me. So, did I leave her in danger, or was it all my imagination? I wasn't really sure.

Chell confirmed that I was only hallucinating when she shouted up the stairs to me asking if I was in. I replied immediately, but was still too frightened to get out of bed. I didn't have to, I heard Chell running up the stairs as soon as she heard my voice. She ran into the bedroom and cannonballed into me. I fell flat onto my back, and hugged her happily. She evaporated my fear with her very presence, and I couldn't help but smile. I didn't even care that she was lying on top of me and hurting the wound on my side. This pain was worth it.

"Are you alright?" she asked, absentmindedly curling a lock of my hair around her finger.

"I guess. It wasn't real," I sighed, resting my cheek against hers.

"What happened back there? What wasn't real? Wheatley please tell me because this just isn't making any sense!"

"In the hospital... I had a... Hallucination... I thought I was in Aperture again," I turned away, slightly embarrassed.

"It's alright to be afraid of something," she whispered, turning my face back again very gently. I sighed, resting my chin on her shoulder rather like a little child gains comfort from its mother. Chell simply played with my hair, soothing me. Maybe it was alright to be afraid, but hallucinating danger? I'm so messed up, I thought miserably, closing my eyes and pulling Chell even closer to me. The systematic caressing of my hair slowly lulled me into sleep, even though it was only the afternoon.

**Chell POV - **my heart ached for Wheatley, as all the stress and fear drained from his now sleeping face. He looked innocent and helpless, and I couldn't resist kissing his cheek softly. Slowly and carefully so as to not wake him, I rolled from his comfy torso onto the bed next to him. Wheatley's chest became a pillow for my head, and I wrapped my arm over him protectively. I promised myself I would prevent Wheatley from harm as much as possible, to avoid unwanted hospital trips. I felt disgusted with Aperture, just for existing. I dared not ask him what his hallucination was; for Wheatley to be so frightened like that it must have been pretty traumatising. A soft sigh escaped his lips, and his arm wrapped around me. Looks like I'm stuck here till he wakes up, I thought, although I couldn't help feeling smug amd happy about this. I simply listened to Wheatley's strong heartbeat, his gentle breathing and his infrequent quiet murmurs. All the vitals showing he was alive was a lullaby of its own to me, and I soon drifted into deep sleep too.

I awoke when Wheatley struggled to untangle himself from the mess of our arms and legs entwined, and looked up. It was the middle of the night, and I groaned. My jeans had dug into my flesh where I had been lying on them for so long, and I sat up painfully.

"I'm so sorry I didn't mean to wake you luv!" Wheatley said in a rush, as he gently twisted his arm from underneath me. "I woke up and I was hungry and I wanted to get into my sleeping clothes because it's night time now but I didn't want to wake you because you looked really tired."

"It's fine," I couldn't help but smile at his nervous chattering. "I want to get changed too, these jeans are hurting me."

"Do you want something to eat?" he asked me, narrowly avoiding tripping over the washing basket.

"No thanks, but be careful," I replied, not wanting the house to be burned down or something dramatic like that. He left the dark room smiling, feeling his way down the hallway in the darkness. I hoped he had the common sense to turn a light on in the kitchen. Who knows with Wheatley. His intelligence is completely unpredictable. Well, at least he's smiling now, he must have gotten over the hallucinations pretty quickly.

I lingered on the edge of the bed, feeling too lazy to get into my pyjamas but knowing I had to. Using all the effort I could muster, I heaved myself to my feet and pulled on the nearest pair of pyjamas I could find. With a sigh I returned to bed again, pulling the duvet over my head with a sigh. Wheatley returned a few minutes later, and climbed into my duvet tent as well. We laughed, and he offered me a crisp from the massive bag he found. I don't even remember buying that, I swear he sneaks to the shops just to buy mountains of crisps. I took a few, then curled up into his warm, now bare chest. Of course Wheatley had to show his affection for me by dropping crisp crumbs in my hair. I kicked him in the shin giggling, and he started to pick the crisp shards from strands of my hair. I rolled onto my side, laughing whilst dragging the covers with me and leaving Wheatley out in the cold. He complained vigorously, and decided to sit on me. I tried to push him off, but he wasn't budging. Trust Wheatley to just laugh and carry on eating. Eventually he stopped laughing and eating and sitting on me, and hugged my cocooned body close instead. Despite the fact he was just being a total idiot and slightly annoying, I fell asleep immediately when placed in his safe, warm arms.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN/... Whoo chapter 5, and thanks for the reviews last chapter =)**

**Chapter 5 - Our Special Place**

**Wheatley POV -** I woke up quite late Saturday morning, to bright sunshine shooting through the suddenly open curtains. Chell laughed, blatantly the criminal here.

"Wheatley get up, it's nearly midday!" she giggled. I groaned loudly.

"Gimme five more minutes," I said, pulling the pillow over my head. She grabbed the soft material from my tired hands and hit me with it.

"Get up you lazy idiot!" she called, trying to pull me out of bed completely.

"Not an idiot!" I replied, "and not getting out of bed either!" I heard Chell leave the room with a sigh, and I closed my eyes blissfully. Unfortunately, for some reason the bed felt empty and lonely without her, and when I rolled over I fell onto the floor with a loud thud. Chell came running, wondering what the bang was. She laughed when she found me struggling to get up of the floor, and pulled me to my unstable feet.

"You're out of bed then?" she asked with a smirk.

"Yeah, very funny," I smiled, pulling her into a massive hug. "Why do I need to be up anyway?"

"Wheatley, it's nearly midday. I think we should do something at least slightly active today."

"Fair enough," I shrugged, kissing her forehead and turning towards the bedroom door. "I have a question though, is the next meal I eat going to be lunch or breakfast?"

Chell sighed, "You think with your stomach more than your brain! Probably lunch."

Once I was dressed, ready and we had eaten a meal - be it breakfast or lunch- I experimented with plaiting a small strip of Chell's hair, wondering how it was done, whilst she did the washing up. No matter what way I twisted the hair, it wouldn't go into a braid. I gave up, frustrated, after desperately trying to untie the tight knot I'd managed to get stuck in Chell's hair before she noticed. After that event went undetected, we had to decide what we wanted to do. I didn't mind what we did, I was happy just to follow Chell around like a lost puppy. Anything involving Chell was worth doing in my opinion.

"Do you want to go to our field together?" I asked. Recognising that twinkle in her eyes, I knew before she replied that she did indeed want to go to our field. I held her warm hand tightly, and we set off with a spring in our step towards our favourite place. It was a long walk, but we didn't mind, as long as we had each other.

**Chell POV** - I was ecstatic Wheatley offered to take me out to our special place. He was always so romantic and adorable there, my heart missed a beat just thinking about it. I sighed to myself, I really had become a love-sick girl. Wheatley heard my sigh, and wrapped his long arm around my back, pulling me closer. I smiled up at the freakishly tall man I loved so dearly, and he grinned back, rather like a cheshire cat. We walked in companionable silence, which was a phenomenon for Wheatley. The unbroken quiet was peaceful, and I relished it while it lasted. He couldn't stay quiet for long though.

"Rick gets out of hospital tomorrow," he said thoughtfully, using his free hand to stroke my cheek quickly with one finger.

"Yeah," I agreed, smiling weakly. "I hope he's okay."

"I'm sure he'll be fine. You know, to him it's probably an adventure. Built for danger and all that," Wheatley chuckled, then retreated back into not talking.

It was only a short matter of time before Wheatley had to speak again.

"How do you plait hair?" he asked, fiddling with that same strand again.

"I'll show you when we get there. Why do you want to know?" curiosity filled my question.

"I like playing with your hair, I might as well do something creative with it," he grinned, and dropped the piece of hair lightly. I had to stop myself from saying 'aww', because that was so cute! I really didn't care at that moment whether it was wise to allow Wheatley anywhere near my hair, I was in too much of a lovey-dovey, couldn't-care-less mood today. If I was lucky, I would make it home at the end of today without having to cut a hunk out of my hair because Wheatley had tied it in knots.

**Wheatley POV -** I pushed the long branches aside, holding open a distinct path for Chell to enter the field she discovered upon escaping Aperture all those years ago. We had made it our special place, since we were the only ones who knew about it. The field was surrounded by a wide thicket, so it was almost impossible to see from outside. But when you get inside, it's the most beautiful place in the world. Thick, lush, green grass covers two large banks, which are split apart by a clear blue river. Butterflies always flutter around you, and the sky always seems brighter here. My favourite place in the world.

Chell grinned, and sat beneath our favourite tree - the apple tree. After untangling my long legs from the roots, I stumbled over to her and sat down with a laugh. Apples make me laugh, I still have no idea why I asked Chell to say apple before, I mean apple of all words! They were like our private joke. A few bees were milling around the flower patches, so I kept a wary eye on them. Apparently they sting. I sat a little closer to Chell, so close she was practically on my lap, laying my legs on either side of her body, and pulled the hair-tie out of her beautiful, glossy brown hair.

"Show me how to plait hair then," I smiled, stroking her hair gently. Chell grabbed a small bunch of hair, and separated it into three strips. She then kept crossing them over each other in a simple pattern till it met the end. Chell pulled the plait apart again, and said, "Now you try."

I pulled all of her hair backwards, and split it into three bits. Now the hard part. I struggled for a while, twisting the hair and getting muddled up, but after a lot of fiddling, I finally managed to get a good braid started. After a while, Chell grew tired, and leant back into me slightly. With a grin, I secured the completed plait with the hair-tie, and wrapped my arms around Chell's waist.

"Done!" I called, resting my chin on her shoulder so our cheeks touched.

"Is it a plait or a knot?" she asked suspiciously, although she couldn't help but smile.

"No no no, it is an actual braid!" I complained, bringing it around her shoulder so she could see.

"That's pretty good, Wheatley," she swivelled around into a kneeling position, and kissed me on the lips. "Thank you."

I kissed Chell back, pulling her closer to me. Her hands rested on my chest, whilst mine stayed glued to the small of her back. My heart sped up, and I could almost hear the beats, it was so loud.

"I love you," I whispered softly into her ear.

"I love you too," she replied. We then continued to get lost in each other's lips, unsure of anything else.

An indefinite amount of time later, I pulled away, looking up into the sky for the first time in a while. Then sun was sinking slowly, like Titanic, and I knew we would have to leave soon. It must have been about four or five in the afternoon. The clouds looked daunting, and weren't as white as before. Chell also looked up, and got onto her feet.

"Looks like it's about to rain, we should head off."

I stood up, grabbed Chell's hand, kissed her forehead, then turned back towards the way we came. At that exact moment, the heavens opened, drenching us in seconds. We stood in the centre of the field, in a torrent of rain that blew our hair and whipped our clothes, yet we couldn't stop ourselves from bursting out laughing. Chell stood on her tiptoes, pulling my head closer to hers, and kissed me gently on the lips. I lifted her up to me, spinning around once to shake the rain away from us in little sprinkles.

"Lets tick kissing in the rain off our list of things to do," Chell grinned as I placed her back on the ground.

"I wasn't aware we had a list," I replied, holding her tiny hand in my own large one.

"We don't, but if we did, kissing in the rain would be on it," she replied, leading me out of the thicket and towards home.

Multiple times, I shook my head violently to splatter Chell with water. She always laughed and compared me to a domestic dog. Truth is, we were soaked to the bone, and she began to look frozen. I shrugged my jacket from my body, and wrapped it around Chell. It was massively too big, but the interior was warm and soft and dry. She frowned, trying to give it back to me.

"You'll freeze without it!"

"No I won't. You're already frozen, and I can handle cold weather. I want you to wear it," I replied, wrapping her into it again. "Please luv?"

She shrugged, and hugged the material around herself tightly. I was a bit cold, but the sight of Chell shivering made me colder with worry. I had heard of pneumonia, and didn't want her getting it. We weren't far from home now anyway.

**Chell POV** - After what felt like an eternity, we stumbled through the front door, wet and cold. Well, at least I was cold. Wheatley looked like he was absolutely fine, smiling and running off to grab me a blanket. He took off my borrowed jacket - which was dripping with water - and wrapped the blanket and a hug around me.

"Are you alright? How can I help?" he asked frantically, when he saw I wasn't warming up.

"I should probably have a warm shower, but are you alright?" I replied, handing Wheatley the blanket.

"Me? I'm fine, I'll just get changed into dry clothes. You go have a shower, now" he commanded. "If you got ill it would be all my fault. I hate to see you suffer luv."

"I know, but I'm alright," I said in return to his sweet comment, and kissed his cheek before heading upstairs for the single most hottest shower I'll ever have.

**Wheatley POV** - I got changed as quickly as possible, instantly warming up, and stood outside the bathroom, feeling worried. "Are you warm yet?" I called anxiously through the door, sinking down it till I sat directly against it.

"I'm fine Wheatley, stop worrying!" she replied, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Okay, so you're not going to get pneumonia?" I asked concernedly. She laughed at me. "Of course not silly!"

"Well if you're sure..." I muttered, getting to my feet and going back downstairs. I doubted Chell would have the energy to cook dinner, I know I wouldn't if I was her, so I made a couple of sandwiches and grabbed some crisps, snarfing a few myself. I then sat on the sofa, and waited patiently for Chell to return.

Whilst I waited, I wondered whether Rick would be more careful in extreme activities once he got his neck brace off. I doubted it, nothing ever taught Rick a lesson. He certainly didn't learn from his mistakes, that's for sure! I felt slightly mean for not visiting him in hospital, but I couldn't exactly return there. I especially didn't want any hallucinations to start, because they were the most terrifying thing I have ever experienced outside Aperture. I shuddered, shaking that memory from my mind with disgust.

When Chell made her way downstairs, she wasn't shivering anymore, and she had changed into her pyjamas even though it wasn't time to sleep. The human race never fails to confuse me. I grinned at her, and passed over a plate of food. She sank onto the sofa next to me, and rested her head on my shoulder heavily. I flipped on the TV, half watching it and half looking at Chell. I wasn't really sure what was going on, it was just two men hitting each other with their fists and shouting at each other. I leant forwards curiously when one of them fell to the floor, and the other one continued to attack him with his feet and legs. My answer from Chell about this occurrence was that they were fighting. I watched the rest of the program, fascinated by the weird fighting. It actually looked quite fun, apart from the pain bit.

"Have you ever been in a fight?" I wondered aloud. I couldn't imagine Chell in a fight like that for some reason. I think she possesses more intelligence than brute strength.

"No, who would I ever fight like that with?" she replied, laughing slightly.

"I don't know! Just looks fun, that's all."

"Wheatley, please don't get into any fights unless they're for a very, very good cause," Chell warned, pulling on a don't-disobey-me-if-you-want-to-live face. I nodded curtly, and held her hand securely.

"My fist stays here."

Chell kissed my cheek with a giggle. "Good."

I watched TV for quite a long time that evening, and when I turned it off and looked at Chell, she was fast asleep. She looked so beautiful, and I couldn't bare to wake her. Instead I gently lifted her limp body from the sofa, and carried her into the bedroom. Laying her down on the bed, I tucked the warm duvet over her protectively, pushed her hair out of her face, and straightened up to get into my own sleeping clothes. Honestly, I couldn't bear to leave Chell, she looked so vulnerable when she was sleeping, so I got changed in the bedroom. I didn't really see any problem with it, it's not my fault humans have an obsession with clothes and being naked is unacceptable despite the fact every other species does it. Besides, Chell would never know, she was fast asleep and facing the opposite direction. I climbed into bed, holding Chell close to me, and entered a peaceful sleep, wondering what tomorrow might hold.

**An/... Chapter 4 complete =D meh back to school tomorrow but hopefully that won't muck up my updating speed =P thanks for the reviews and people reading this story, you are awesome!**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN/... Whoo chapter 6 =P thankyou thankyou thankyou for all the reviews! Love you guys out there who read New Life, especially those who have read New Light too! If you haven't read New Light, it's never to late to try it *hint hint*! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 6 - Learning How To Be Human**

**Wheatley POV -** It all started as just another - sort of normal - day. I woke up late morning as usual, and stretched. Chell wasn't beside me, and I assumed she was downstairs. Trudging into the hallway whilst rubbing my eyes sleepily, I nearly tripped over the washing basket like I do every morning. I gave it a kick angrily, and it teetered unstably from side to side a few times before returning to a normal upright stance. When I called Chell's name halfway down the creaky stairs, I was surprised at her lack of an answer. I spotted a piece of paper pinned to the bottom of the staircase, and I tore it from the post curiously.

_'Wheatley,'_ it read in Chell's familiar curly handwriting. I raised my eyebrows and continued. _'I've gone to help Rick home from the hospital. Come over to his house when you're ready and we'll be there! Love you, from Chell.'_ a neat line of crosses followed her name, and I wiped my finger along them suspiciously. The ink stayed put. I had no idea what the crosses meant, and I vowed to ask Chell later. Maybe they were secret code for something! Folding the paper, I went to place it in my shirt pocket, then realised I wasn't dressed yet. With a sigh, I jogged back to our room, and pulled on my usual outfit of a shirt, black trousers, and bright blue Converses. I affectionately put Chell's note in my chest pocket, so it now rested gently over my softly beating heart, and I patted it with a love drunk smile. That is, feeling love oozing from me in waves. I don't actually know what drunk means, it is probably another human custom.

Honestly, I was hungry for Chell more than for breakfast; so I immediately left, headed towards Rick's house - which is just three houses away from our own. A few drops of rain splattered onto my head and front, and despite the fact I knew humans had immunity to water, I rushed along to escape it. Shaking the water from my hair, I ducked under the protection of Rick's extended roof, and knocked on the door pitifully. Chell answered, and I scooped her into a tight, slightly wet hug, breathing in the smell of her dark chocolate, soft hair and feeling the warm pressure as she returned my embrace. She looked up at me with her beautiful grey eyes, and I just about melted. Slowly and gently, I bent down and kissed her flushed lips.

"Er... don't mind me," Rick interrupted awkwardly with a fake cough as he suddenly materialised in the hallway.

"Gah!" I cried, jolting upright and leaving Chell looking at Rick with an almost annoyed look. His brown hair hung limply around his ears, and his face looked thinner, sucking to his pointy cheekbones. Dull eyes looked at me, and a weak smile appeared on Rick's brave face. He was wearing old scuffed jeans, and a black t-shirt with a couple of little holes in it. A neck brace gripped him like a boa constrictor, and every now and again Rick would tug at it uncomfortably. A red-brown jagged line streaked down his cheek, from eyebrow to chin. In a nutshell, he looked a mess.

I pulled him into a hug, carefully avoiding his neck, and Rick returned it, collapsing against me slightly. I pulled away, holding his shoulders with a concerned expression.

"You look exhausted mate," I told him truthfully. "How much did you sleep last night?"

"About two hours. I'm fine, just annoyed with this neck brace! I'm not allowed to do any hard exercise for four whole days! What am I supposed to do for four days?"

I let go of his shoulders, suppressing laughter. Yep, Rick was back to his normal, adventurous self.

"Hang out at ours and watch films whilst Chell is at work and I'm just a lonely old man?" I suggested, grinning.

"Thanks bro, that's pretty good I guess," Rick smiled back, giving me a big hi-5. "Oh, and another thing: you're hardly an old man, I think apart from kids, we're the youngest people on this street!" I agreed, and grabbed Chell's hand lovingly.

I could hear Rick's radio blaring away from the other room, playing some up-beat, fast songs. Peeking my head around the door confirmed that Chell had been working her magic, and all of Rick's junk had been cleared. His sports equipment was neatly stored around the edge of the room. Cleaning confirmed that somewhere under that pile of junk, Rick had a TV and a PS3. I smirked, _wow that must have been a high pile of rubbish._

"So... Anything you particularly want to do?" Chell suddenly appeared beside me with Rick.

"You're gonna hang with me today?" he sounded shocked, and sympathy coursed through me in waves.

"Sure we are," Chell smiled at him kindly. "What would you like to do?"

"Cinema?" he suggested, tilting his head on one side. I'd heard of cinemas, though I hadn't seen one before. Apparently people go there to watch films on a giant screen in a big room together. I honestly wasn't sure what the point was when they could just buy the film and watch it from the comfort of their own home, but it was an experience I was willing to... Well experience. Chell nodded with a smile, and set Rick up on his computer in his room to look at the film choices. I stayed put, not bothering to get my say in the film discussion. No doubt Rick would choose some type of adventure film.

Chell came down a few minutes later, shaking her head slightly, seemingly bemused.

"He wants to talk to you. Said it had something to do with spin the bottle. I guess that means something to you?"

"I... Erm... Yeah," I muttered nervously, getting to my feet hesitantly. I felt awkward, knowing that the discussion could just be about Chell in some way. With a pre-apologetic glance at her, I sped up the stairs to Rick's bedroom. He was sitting at a little desk in the corner in front of his modern, shiny black computer.

"You wanted me?" I questioned suspiciously, closing the door behind me and avoiding the monster pile of dirty laundry by the navy blue wall. I did not want to fall into that. Rick pushed away from his desk, and stood before me.

"Look, about what I said when we were playing truth or dare the other day... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that, because honestly, we will never be human. There's no point pretending anymore. Wheatley, we are ROBOTS! We can't change that because we got shoved into a human's appearance! It's not right for you to be... You know... Physical with Chell. She's a human, we're not, and the sooner we accept that the better. You know what I'm saying right?" Rick looked at his feet nervously, then back up at me. Well that was totally unexpected. Anger flashed through my eyes (yes eyes, not optics!) and I made a snorting sound deep in my throat.

"No! I won't listen to that! I am a human!" denial filled my voice though, because I knew he was right.

"I'm sorry mate, but you're just not. I'm not either. Life's hard, a machine's life is harder. Because when you think about it, that's all we are. Machines. Cold, hard machinery. Look, we can act like them, but some human things are just beyond boundaries."

"Why are you being like this?" the hurt burned through me, right to the core (no pun intended). He shrugged, then smiled slightly.

"Because I'm your best friend and I don't want to see you get hurt by a human."

I couldn't fight with that. We were best friends, and surely keeping pain from me was a good thing? I just wished it could be different. Odd, because I never thought I would willingly want to be a human. At the time, they were just smelly, weird creatures with low IQ and no sense of self preservation. But now, they were so much more. Rick put his arm round me reassuringly, then gestured for me to follow. "Come on ! You can still act human, just watch your step, for me? Now let's go, you're keeping your girlfriend waiting and we have a movie to watch." He'd accepted at least part of my argument, because he deliberately chose to say 'girlfriend'. That was something.

I nodded, pulling a fake smile on my face, and followed Rick downstairs. Chell hugged me when I entered, sensing something was wrong. I shook my head slightly, and kissed her instead. Luckily for us, Rick didn't interrupt for once, and disappeared for a bit. He returned wearing cleaner clothes without holes, his hair immaculately gelled into pointy spikes. I sacrificed Chell's lips, and settled for her hand instead.

"Ready?" I asked. We were, and after a very stressful morning, finally left for the cinema, thoughts of humans hanging over my head like a storm cloud. I think I had come to a solution, which I would run past Chell later. I didn't want to do it, but I had to. For her sake.

**Rick POV -** I felt strangely mean for warning Wheatley, but he had to know. I had known it deep inside from the beginning, we were just weird hybrids, pretending to be something we aren't. What's the point? Although since there was a zombie massacre happening on a giant screen, I was happy to be half human. Blood splattered everywhere, and I looked across to Wheatley. No doubt he would be scared. However I was surprised, because he looked interested in all of the brutal deaths. His eyes narrowed, and I knew he was thinking deeply about something. Chell looked at him anxiously, and Wheatley instantly snapped out of his daydream and wrapped his arm around her with a soppy look in his eyes. I couldn't help but notice brave old Chell had to hide her eyes in Wheatley's shirt for some parts of the film, and I smiled slightly. The tables have turned. I did envy them though. It was hard to stay sane with a past like ours, but they always seemed able to drag the one another back to reality. It was sweet.

I flipped back to the film, laughing internally at the people screaming, both inside and outside the screen. Zombies were like child's play in comparison to Aperture. The special effects were pretty awesome though. I think, if zombies existed, then there is a high chance they would resemble these ones. The main guy slashed one down the middle with a sharp knife, and its' guts splattered the ground with a sickening plop. Wheatley tapped my shoulder, and when I turned to him, he mimed gouging a zombie's eyes out whilst pulling a silly face. We snorted, trying to hold in our laughter, and Chell looked up at us from her pillow (or Wheatley's chest) with a mildly amused expression. He covered her eyes deftly, milliseconds before the monsters began ripping human brains out, splashing yet more blood across the screen. Chell snuggled into him gratefully, and I smiled to myself. She can take on murderous super computers, but not a poxy fake zombie apocalypse. I found that quite funny.

**Chell POV -** Wheatley was warm, and protected me all the way through that gross film. Rick teased me to no end about it, but I allowed him to. Poor bloke had a neck brace on, I didn't want to be too harsh. Despite my great head pillow, I was relieved when the credits rolled and everyone burst into chatter about zombies and blood and knives. I was on the verge of refusing to get up now the film was over, Wheatley was so comfortable and soft I could almost fall asleep. But the lights flared up, and I reluctantly pulled my head upright. Rick stood, and pulled me up after him, yet laughed and refused to help Wheatley onto his long, dead legs. I had to nimbly catch him as he got to his feet and nearly tripped head over heels down the descending chairs. Carefully, he stepped around the averagely heighted people at his feet, and managed to make it to the exit accident free.

Bursts of sunlight hit us as we left the dark cinema, blinding us. Wheatley used his arm to shield his bright, almost glowing blue eyes. Rick fished a pair of trendy, deep black sunglasses from his pocket, and covered his eyes with them. I simply blinked a few times, allowing my eyes to adjust, then continued as normal. However, when I turned around to see why the boys were lagging behind, I realised a very primary-school-style fight had broken out. Wheatley was laughing, Rick's sunglasses on his head, and Rick was desperately trying to reach them. A smile wasn't present on his face.

"Wheatley!" I shouted, slightly annoyed. He looked up like a scalded child, and hid the glasses behind his back, trying to deny they were with him. Rick nabbed them in Wheatley's moment of weakness, and put them over his snake green eyes with a smirk. I jolted my chin, indicating for them both to hurry up, and they obeyed. Wheatley did look amazingly cute in sunglasses though. We clambered into Rick's car casually, Wheatley in the front watching Rick drive with curiosity filling his expression.

"So..." Wheatley began, turning his head slightly towards me and Rick. "What were those zombies, and are they real creatures?" Rick spluttered, then burst into loud guffaws. I giggled a little, then decided to put him out of his misery.

"No, zombies aren't real, and they're sort of like... Undead humans. Like, a living corpse. Just think of them as part human and part... Something else? Monster I guess."

"Oh." he said looking down to the floor. He muttered something unintelligible, but for some reason it sounded like 'I know how they feel.' Anxiously, I patted his shoulder.

"Hey, what's wrong," I asked, touching his cheek gently. Rick looked at him worriedly, and I assumed he probably knew.

"It's nothing luv, I'll tell you later." he muttered, turning away from both of us. For some strange reason, Rick looked massively guilty. If he was involved, I would kill him. I knew there was more than 'nothing' wrong with Wheatley, and I nervously awaited for this evening to arrive, where we could ditch Rick and he could tell me everything.

**Wheatley POV -** I held it off for as long as possible. I waited for Rick to leave, I waited for Chell to make dinner, I waited for us to sit down and eat it and I waited for us to sit awkwardly on the sofa and watch TV. However when we climbed into bed early that night, I couldn't hold it off anymore. Chell had a right to this, she needed to grasp what I had to explain. I sat up on the mattress, and turned Chell's face towards me with a couple of slow, lingering fingers. Pure worry filled her expression, and a twinge of guilt attacked me. Would she ever forgive me for this?

"Chell, I love you, I love you more than anyone could ever comprehend, you know that right?"

Chell smiled, and leant in for a kiss, but I declined it offhandedly.

"But... I'm not human really, am I? My personality, my mind, was all inside a core. I'm still that core Chell, just because my outer appearance has changed. There's nothing I can ever do to change that, so I think we should just accept the fact."

Chell opened her mouth to protest, but again I flipped it away.

"Humans... Humans shouldn't date artificial lifeforms, should they? I mean, because they're artificial. I can't give you what other humans can. I don't know what half of the human traditions here are, and I'm always breaking stuff! So, for your own good, even though I love you so much, maybe I should leave before I do anymore damage. Just promise... Promise you'll find a nice human to look after you - not that you need looking after - but I worry, you know? I always will."

Crystal tears welled up in Chell's beautiful eyes, and my heart shattered into a million pieces. She grabbed my hands, pulling me closer.

"No! Wheatley I don't want any old human! A human who doesn't understand my greatest fears, a human who can never fully grasp my daily nightmares that occur when you're not sleeping next to me? A human to use me then dump me when they've had enough? I don't want a normal person! I want you, because you are part of me, we share a past, and nobody can ever steal that bond away. Also, you are definitely human, there is not a human thing on this earth you could not do!"

I sniffed slightly, holding back the tears. "Prove it. Prove I can do some completely human things and I'll stay. I mean, it's not like my love for you can ever decrease."

"I'll show you something human," she whispered, kissing me full on the lips. This one tasted different, tasted something like lust. Her hands roamed my body, and I did the same to her. At some point our clothes met with the floor, and from then on began the single most human experience I could ever wish to share with Chell.

Morning sunlight dappled through the windows, leaving patchy light on Chell's back. I stretched, feeling absolutely amazing. I was human after all! At some point during last night, Chell said we could forget the whole me leaving conversation if I wanted, and I accepted graciously. How did I ever think I could live without the other half of my heart? I noticed another bullet mark on Chell's back, she had loads of them. I touched it gently, then traced the line of sunlight going along her back. My hair was a ruffled mess, and I combed my fingers through it before turning back to the sleeping beauty next to me. I grinned casually as her amazing eyes opened, and a smile spread across her face.

**Chell POV - **My eyes opened to the most beautiful man in the universe staring back at me with a level of affection nobody else could ever match. I didn't regret last night, it was the best night of my life probably. I remember Wheatley understanding exactly what I wanted him to do straight away, I remember him being the most romantic and caring guy ever, I remember him discovering several bullet marks and other scars, apologising futilely and kissing them softly. I remember how connected we felt, like nobody could ever separate us, no matter what. That connection ran through the night, and it stayed with me through to the morning. I think - I hope - it might be a permanent one. I had decided, that was the best night of my life, period.

I snuggled closer to Wheatley's ever warm body, and lay my head on his smooth chest. He kissed my hair, and wrapped his arm right around me.

"I love you," he smiled, blue eyes shining like a glistening sapphire-blue river. My heart skipped a beat, even though I was really familiar with this phrase now.

"I love you too. I always have, and always will. No matter what."

**AN/... Tadah! Hope u liked it =P just like to say, for those who have noticed me miscounting chapter numbers in my author notes, just ignore them, it's just me being a moron and Wheatley-ish. Either you can count yourselves, or the number before the chapter name will be right =D. Also, thanks to ComapnionCube1410, who helped me a lot with the last few paragraphs of this chapter, and as always to everyone who bothers to read this story; love you all!**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN/... Thank you for all the reviews! Also, I'm mega sorry it's been so long since I last updated, I need to get my butt in gear and write faster =P. I'm aiming for a nice, funny chapter this time, so less serious than the past few. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 7 - Dysfunctional Romeo and Juliet**

**Wheatley POV **- I jumped off the bed, absolutely full of energy, and began to pull on a clean outifit from the big wardrobe, guessing that in an unspoken way, the rule I had to get dressed in the bathroom (and Chell in here) had been aborted. She joined me to grab a pair of jet black skinny jeans and a long pink top from her drawer, agilely pulling them on. Just as I was planning all the brilliant things Chell and I could do today, like going to our field and maybe a beach and possibly going out for dinner or something, I heard the doorbell calling for us loudly. With a sigh I ran downstairs and opened it with one lithe hand movement. Rick stood on my doorstep, his hair gelled into pointed spikes, rather like rows of pointy teeth. He was wearing a tight, pitch-black t-shirt and jeans. The neck brace had been ditched, even though Rick was supposed to wear it for another two days. I rolled my eyes, preparing to shut the door in his face. I was still slightly angry at him for lying about my lack of humanity. All he proved is that he was completely wrong, and I can get 'laid' before him. At least I think he called it getting laid, all these silly phrases are hard to keep up with.

"Wait!" he cried, jamming his foot in the door. "Don't lock me out! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to cause you any pain!" I reconsidered my previous thoughts on shutting him out, and opened the door an inch wider.

"You know you almost caused me to break up with Chell," I told him in a hushed but angry whisper. I didn't want her to hear our conversation. Rick's eyes grew large with shock, and the colour flushed from his face.

"I am so sorry! I saw how sad you looked in the car yesterday, and I just felt so bad, I didn't mean it to come out like that." Rick pulled a face somewhat like a puppy, green eyes round and apologetic. I couldn't stay mad at that.

"Yeah, it's fine, I forgive you," I smiled, bumping my fist with his (another human custom). Nothing could burst my personal high today, my mood was beyond cloud nine.

"To make it up to you, I thought I'd let you do something you've always wanted to do..." he hinted, though I had no idea what exactly it was. I faced inside, called to Chell saying I was going out, and slammed the door behind me.

"What are we doing?" I asked suspiciously as Rick led me to his driveway, where a familiar dark green car stood. I assumed we were going to drive somewhere cool, as in Rick drives and I watch wistfully, until Rick hopped into the passenger side. He motioned for me to get in the driver's side, and a grin spread across my face. Ducking my head shamelessly, I scrambled in front of the wheel.

"I'm gonna teach you how to drive," Rick grinned. "Don't crash though, okay?"

"I'll try not to..." I said doubtfully. "This is the steering wheel right... So that turns the car... And the pedals do... Something... A lever thingy! That's to... To... Erm..." I trailed off, having absolutely no idea what all these little gadgets do. Rick sighed, and began with the basics, pointing out the handbrake, the steering wheel, the indicator, the hazard light, the accelerator, the brakes and the air con. Cramming it all into my brain was difficult, and I got their names wrong constantly.

"So the brake makes the car go forwards?" I cringed, hoping not to get it wrong again. Rick groaned with frustration.

"The accelerator goes forwards, the brake goes backwards. You know, brake. 'B' for BACKWARDS!"

"Accelerator goes forwards?" I asked for confirmation, trying to lock it into my brain. Rick nodded, looking ecstatic I'd finally nailed the last important driving implement. "Okay, time for you to actually drive."

My hands shook excitedly as I placed the key in the ignition and Rick's car rumbled to life. Driving a car always seemed like such a fun thing to do, I used to listen to scientists talking about them with glee. Trouble was, I used to lack hands... And feet... And a car. I pulled my seatbelt on and took off the handbrake with a sharp click, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. As slow as a tortoise, I lowered my foot onto the accelerator pedal and the car inched off the drive. It felt odd, I decided I didn't like being in control of such a large object. Fear coursed through me, and I stomped on the brake hastily. We jolted to a stop, directly in the middle of the street.

"What on earth are you doing?" Rick cried, slamming his hands down on the dashboard to stop banging his head on it instead.

"I don't like it, I'm gonna crash and die and this isn't safe and I don't think the brake works properly and this is scary!" I cried worriedly, holding the brake down for extra support.

"You're fine Wheatley. Think of how many people drive cars, they're all safe. I promise I will pull the special emergency brake under my seat if we are in danger."

Of course at the time I had no idea he was lying about the special brake, and his encouraging words pushed me into acceleration again. I rolled the steering wheel to my left, so the car was on the correct side of the road, facing the right direction. I hadn't caused any injuries so far, and a little confidence built up inside me. My foot stomped down, and we jolted forwards before I slammed down the brake again. I did this several times, unable to get the right balance. Rick was getting thrown backwards and forwards repeatedly, and eventually I think he must have snapped.

"Oh for God's sake Wheatley!" he shouted, pushing my knee so his car instantly slipped into a normal speed. I chuckled nervously, and the steering wheel wobbled precariously. I had had enough of this driving lark, and pushed the brake down all the way. My brain clouded over with confusion and fear as we suddenly sped up.

"No, no that makes it go faster!" I muttered, suddenly forgetting what all of the different pedals did. I let go of the steering wheel, bending down to prod them whilst the car was still in motion. Rick yelled at me, but it was to late. The car swerved, and we crashed into something. My head made a convincing cracking sound on the steering wheel, and I looked up cautiously, groaning. A lamppost was embedded in the bumper of Rick's car, and a more than tiny dent showed on the hood. I looked at Rick anxiously, and attempted an innocent expression.

"I... Meant to do that... To... Test your efficiency as an emergency brake person, and I have to say, you failed horribly," I lied blatantly, trying to cover my own back.

"Wheatley. Did you just crash my car?" he asked with deliberate slowness.

"I... Erm... It... Maybe... Yeah. Yeah I did," I murmured, looking at my feet to avert Rick's expression. I doubted it was a friendly one. However, his response shocked me.

"Ah well, it's only a little nick in the hood. Just maybe, maybe you shouldn't try driving again anytime soon. Swap sides?" Rick smiled casually, as if this kind of accident happened every day. Actually, scrap that, because accidents do happen everyday when it came to us. We were disaster prone idiots. Just to prove that point, I accidentally stood on something, and the car reversed at high speed into a bush behind us. Rick just laughed at this, and demanded to take my seat.

Safely strapped into the passenger side, I allowed Rick to manoeuvre his damaged car from the tight gap I'd got it stuck in, and park back onto his drive. My head began to ache again, and I looked into the mirror to see a dark bruise beginning to form over one eye - where I banged it on the steering wheel earlier. Oops, I'll have to tell Chell about the crash after all. Rick had fared better, sustaining no injuries, although it was his car that got smashed. We stood outside the dented hunk of metal aimlessly, inspecting the damage halfheartedly. Rick probed the bruise on my eye, and told me it was my own fault for being such an idiot. Nevertheless, it didn't stop him running back inside to grab me an ice pack. He told me it would stop the bruise swelling to the point my eye got jammed shut. That sounded promising, so I took the offer gratefully. It was cold, not to mention wet, so not as pleasant as the first impression suggested, but did the job well enough I suppose. I mean, my eye is still open, despite the purple-black bruises covering my usually alabaster skin like a patch on a bloody Dalmatian. Rick pointed that out happily, teasing me relentlessly. You learnt to tune his jokes out after a while I guess, when the gag was you.

"Now what?" I asked, rubbing my head anxiously, then staring up at Rick through unsure eyes. He shrugged casually, green eyes bright and unconcerned. "Do you have any food at yours? 'cause if you do we're headed there."

"Yeah, fine, we have food. Come on," I sighed, but couldn't help but laugh. His whole mindset ran on thoughts of how to get to his next meal, I swear. The ice pack he'd given me had started to melt, and cold water dripped through my fingers and down my shirt sleeve. I sucked in air quickly, for the cold wetness wasn't a nice sensation. By the time I dug in my pocket for keys and unlocked the door, the ice block was no more than an ice cube, and half of my torso was completely soaked. Chell had hearing like a bat, and swooped downstairs as soon as I took my first step inside the threshold. With a shocked gasp, she put her hand gently on my eyebrow, above the giant bruise. I raised my brows, so it tickled her slightly.

"What happened to you?" she asked, voice full of concern.

"It was nothing... Well it wasn't nothing of course because something did happen... What I'm trying to say is it wasn't that serious and I'm sure we'll all be fine... You know what I'm getting at? No? Okay so I went over to Rick's and we got in his car and started to drive up the street... Did I mention what a lovely day it is today?... Oh yeah and then we... We were attacked and the car swerved and-"

"I let Wheatley drive my car, and we crashed into a lamppost. He banged his head on the steering wheel," Rick interrupted, probably fed up of my nervous stammering and rambling.

"That's against the law you idiots!" Chell exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "You could have been in a really serious accident, or other people may have crashed into you! You put more than just your own lives at risk by your actions!"

"We didn't mean to..." I muttered, hanging my head.

"I know, I'm just happy you're both okay," she said, hugging me tightly. I hugged her back, rocking onto my heels slightly and breathing in the familiar smell of Chell's hair.

"Are you relieved I'm not hurt too Chell?" Rick teased, although there was an underlying tone of hope.

"Yeah, but if you got a brain injury I might change my mind," she replied with a cocky giggle, stepping away from me. He grabbed her against his own body, and wiggled his fingers up and down along her neck. She laughed and squirmed and apologised, struggling for escape. I had no idea what he was doing, but blind anger filled me and I snatched Chell away like a toy at a nursery.

"What do you think you're doing?" I demanded, arms crossed and Chell pushed safely behind me.

"It's just a game called tickling Wheats, nothing serious," he said in mock surrender.

"Why was Chell trying to escape then?"

Rick leapt on me like a monkey would a tree, and began to do the same weird motion to me on my ribs. It was the weirdest sensation ever, and it was a mixture of funny and torture all at once. I burst out laughing, and began a tickle war with Rick. He won, I ended up on the floor in a giggling heap gasping for breath. He helped me to my feet, chuckling at his victory. "That's why."

"Hah, at first I thought it was something bad, and I got really mad. Sorry about that," I told Rick earnestly. They both laughed at me for a second, then left it in the dust of the past.

"Does it hurt?" Chell whispered. We had made our way to the sofa, Rick was sitting on the arm, Chell was sitting next to me, so close she might as well have been on my lap, and kept looking up at my black eye anxiously.

"Not really. I've had worse."

"True," Rick chimed in, eating a peanut butter and jam sandwich he had whipped up in my kitchen, with my bread and my sandwich fillings. He was like a burglar in disguise, so good I couldn't even be mad at him.

"Chuck me half!" I moaned, holding my hand up for a badly thrown, slightly soggy sandwich with a big bite out of it. I caught it expertly, and chuckled.

"Ugh you know how many germs he probably has?" Chell sniped jokingly as I ate the food without hesitating. Rick and I shrugged in unison, clearly thinking in the mindset of best friends.

"I'm going out this evening. You and Rick should do something normal," Chell suddenly suggested, looking happily at me with those big, beautiful eyes.

"What do you mean, normal?" Rick half-shouted, half-sniggered, shattering my daydream and jolting me to a start.

"I mean acting like normal young adults, so no breaking windows or blowing up microwaves or just sitting on your butts doing absolutely nought."

"Eh? What should we do then?" I asked curiosly, pulling Chell closer to me. I didn't want her to go out particularly, although Rick would be an alright alternative I suppose.

"I dunno. Google suggestions or go up to the cinema, just don't do anything stupid!" Chell warned strictly, before letting go of the bossy parent role and becoming the brilliant woman I love and hold so dearly again. I hugged her warmly, and awaited for the evening to come with slight anticipation, no doubt Rick would make it entertaining.

After having a shower, doing my hair, letting Rick borrow my comb to do his own hair, letting Rick choose something to do this evening and eating more junk food than I have room for, the clock had done a speed-up trick and it was magically seven. Time flies when you're having fun, but honestly, should it fly when your getting ready to go out? For me that never seemed so exciting. Sighing slowly, I kissed a beautifully made up Chell goodbye, watched her leave sullenly, then turned to Rick, who was still somehow fussing over his fringe and gelling spikes.

"Oi, Rupenzel, stop messing with your hair!" I shouted in his ear, making him jump at least ten feet high.

"Man, that's not funny," he gasped, his heart racing so fast I could pratically hear it.

"Lighten up, it was hilarious. Anyway, you're wasting possible activity time, what do you want to do?"

"I don't know. I have no idea what 'normal young adults' do," Rick muttered, a bit shaken from me sneaking up on him still.

"Shall we do what Chell said? You know, google it? I dunno what that is but it must be quite cool for her to suggest it," I told him, a hint of excitement in my voice.

"Wheatley, Google is awesome! How can you have not discovered it? Basically it's like this super AI inside your computer, and it's name is Google. You can ask it anything at all, and it knows the answer. Pretty cool huh!"

"Wow," I exclaimed, grabbing Chell's laptop from underneath the sofa (don't ask) and pressing the on button.

A little opening screen, and the laptop was ready to go. I typed in the password, seeing Chell do it so many times it only took so long to figure out what letters she used and I took it from there. Master hacker here! Now, this password was a good one: 'Wheatley3'. I liked it. Then I handed the laptop onto Rick's lap, so he could conjure up this so-called Google. A small gasp escaped my lip when the Google screen popped up.

"What do normal young adults do for a night out?" I asked the computer in a slow, clear voice. Rick gave me a what-the-hell look, then snorted.

"Computer can't hear you, you idiot!" he laughed at me, then tapped the keys so my question appeared in a little box on screen. With a roll of my eyes, I crossed my leg over my knee, folded my arms, and let him do all the work.

Rick nudged me hard in the ribs with his stiletto elbow, and I glanced up. A new screen was showing - a grey background with blue stripes. There was a small list going down the left.

"So we can go to... A party?" I read. Rick shook his head.

"We can go to... A club?" Rick shook his head.

"We can go to... A pub?"

"There's one of them on the other side of town. I don't know what it does though, probably something quite cool. You wanna check it out?"

"Sure," I grinned flipping my house keys around my finger at lightening speed and waiting for Rick to pull on his old, grey-white, abused trainers.

"I'm driving," Rick told me as we left my house and I locked it thoroughly, hoping Chell didn't forget her keys. God only knew which one of us would return first.

"I wouldn't want to drive thanks. The pedals in your car don't work properly," I lied, trying to sound like I could drive, just couldn't drive Rick's rubbishy thing. Rick laughed, gave me a gentle whack across the head, and climbed into the drivers seat of the slightly abused car. Well, very abused car. I called shotgun in my head, even though I was the only other person, and climbed into the passenger side.

"So, what are we supposed to do at a pub?" I asked, having no idea whatsoever.

"No idea, let's just copy some other people our age and see what happens. Unless they like kiss or something, in which case don't copy," Rick mock shuddered, and flicked on his headlights. He should have done that two streets ago, but he wanted to see if he had 'night vision'. Stupid ninja wannabe. There was no way he would ever master any form of martial art, he just likes to think he owns every single one out there. He sped along the dark roads, narrowly avoiding the various cats and foxes that darted around in the evening, whilst I turned his radio up on loud volume and sung along (badly).

"Shut up!" Rick moaned on the third song I happened to know all the lyrics of. I just laughed, and carried on. We enjoyed teasing each other, I wasn't doing any permanent harm... Probably.

"Don't make me give you another patch, you already look like a dog!" Rick warned, rubbing his temples with both palms.

"Hands on the wheel," I cautioned, not wanting another accident.

"Yeah yeah. We don't all drive like you," he replied arrogantly, but his fingers found the steering wheel again. I smiled, proud I'd saved us from another accident, and stopped singing for the rest of the short(ish) journey.

So, a pub. Granted I had no idea what one was, but I imagined something a bit less... Loud. It was a massive hub for activity, and it was still only early evening really. There were people standing outside in a big circle, smoke rising from the little stick things that were called cigarettes, and they had drinks in their hands. A few people were standing around the unlit corner, smoking something that had a slightly odd smell which I hated immediately. Ugh, why do some people put a bunch of chemicals into their mouth then set it on fire? Doesn't make much sense if you ask me. Wouldn't catch me doing that. I couldn't help but notice most of the people were our (physical) age or younger, I couldn't spot anyone under around eighteen and above around late twenties.

With a grin, Rick parked his car among the other mostly crappy little cars, and we climbed out. People stared up at me, obviously due to my height, but nobody seemed hostile towards us newcomers. Rick wandered inside curiously, and I followed. The interior was dark, with black walls and dark wood floors. Music was playing quite loudly, and there were little tables set out in the corners. I dodged around them, following Rick up to the back, where a long counter set up with bar stools stood. Behind it, lit up like a shrine, was a wall of bottles, filled with a drink of some description, all different colours. Rick nudged me, and I turned to him loyally. He was no doubt the leader in our outings, and I had no objection to this. With me in charge everything would go horribly wrong, even more wrong than it always goes anyway.

"What do you reckon this place is for?" he asked, emerald eyes wide and curious.

"No idea. Everyone just seems to be getting some of that," I pointed to the wall of bottles, "and then just laughing and mucking around."

"Hang on, lets copy these people. You got your wallet on you?" Rick asked me.

"Yeah. I guess I'm paying then," I chuckled. I didn't mind to be honest, I wasn't really poor. Stealing bags of money from Aperture wasn't exactly honest, but to be honest with a business declining like it was, what would they need the money for apart from building torture tracks for innocent humans? I was doing everyone out here a favour. I shook the bad memories from my head, and listened in on the people in front of us, a couple of men around early twenties.

"Two pints of beer please," they asked the man at the counter, who poured them a couple of glasses full of frothy orange liquid, and took a few coins off them. Not badly priced, quite cheap really. I allowed Rick to do the talking, and just handed the guy some money in return for the drinks with a subdued thanks. He gave one to me, smiling.

"So are we officially 'normal young adults' now?" Rick asked, taking a sip of the drink before him.

"Yeah!" I agreed enthusiastically, having a bit of my drink too. It had a weird taste, strong and overpowering, but I kinda liked it.

"Do you wanna hang outside with the other people?" he asked me, turning for the door casually.

"Sure," I agreed, willing to follow him around if it meant any catastrophes couldn't be entirely down to me. Although they usually were.

The wind had picked up a bit, blowing my hair slightly, but apart from that it was quite a mild evening. We leant against the wall, chatting aimlessly about the people around us, like a pair of gossiping teenage girls. We laughed a lot, and when the glasses were empty we went and got another one. God knows how much we had drunk, but I started to feel a little... Odd. It was like when I ate loads of sugary sweets before and had bags of energy and Chell said I was 'hyper'. The world seemed to shudder slightly around me, and lampposts would magically appear in front of me when I tried walking. I looked over to Rick, laughing, and he dropped his glass with a little sneeze, causing us to guffaw loudly. We weren't the only people who had started to go a little crazy, some people had actually started shouting and screaming and punching each other. The moon was high overhead, lighting the scene like the glare of a police helicopter beam, searching for the sane ones. Clouds shivered and shuddered in the harsh air, whipping my cheeks and ambushing my eyes. I rubbed my eyes roughly, then turned to Rick, who was having a conversation with a random man about cats. At least I assumed that was what he was talking about, I doubted the high amount of code words the english language had.

"Hey, hey Rick!" I shouted, smiling slightly, and letting my empty pint drop to the floor too. Sharp shards of glass flew across the path, cutting it open into fresh wounds.

"Rick, do you... Wanna go back to m... Miiiiiiine? ... We can watchhhhh stuff," I slurred, not even making much sense anymore.

"Let's go!" he agreed loudly, grabbing my arm and pulling me towards his car, whistling out of tune songs happily. I laughed, banging into the car heavily.

"There's a carrrrr there," Rick attempted to say sarcastically, but ended up laughing halfway through, joining me. It took him several goes to get the key in the ignition, but eventually we managed to get the engine going, and Rick reversed slowly. His hands shook on the steering wheel, and the car swerved slightly in answer.

"Drive better-er..." I muttered. "You drive like my mum."

"Shut up! You don't have a mum!" he replied, hitting me playfully.

"Ohhhhh yeaahh," I slurred in agreement. "We're too awesome for them."

"Hell yeah! Also, we... used to be cores, so that... would be... another... reason."

"That too," I shrugged, then pointed with a fast escalating squeal. "Oooh look, a pwetty tiger!" Of course at the time I was unaware of the fact it was just a little ginger cat that happened to be watching us as Rick's car stumbled through the roads, trying to reach home. Rick had proceeded to flick his hazard lights on and off, whilst imitating a deranged police siren though, so we might not have made it home in any form of record time.

One deliberately ran over squirrel (survived to tell the tale thank God) and four crushed flower beds later, Rick double-parked wonkily on his drive, and we staggered out into the biting wind again. I felt slightly queasy, and goosebumps had appeared on my arms, even though I didn't feel cold at all. Rick laughed, hiccuped then spewed out a liquid of dribble-like consistency down his front.

"Ugh what's that?" I cried, mortified. I had never seen something like that come out of a person before, and so began to freak out.

"Is that normal? Oh God, are you dying!" I said, clearly distressed. Rick didn't seem too bothered. "It's... Just... Puke... I'll be fine."

"It's all down your top though! And it smells weird," I said, taking a step back from him confusedly. My brain was a jumble, and a headache had started to wriggle its way into my skull. Rick laughed, obviously still at the high point of our condition, and pulled his top off.

"There, all gone," Rick squawked with giggles, ignoring the fact he was now shivering. I handed him my warm jacket, and he pulled it on gratefully. I swear I always give people my coat, first Chell then Rick. I didn't particularly mind, I don't feel the cold usually.

With a bit of Rick's encouragement, I found my way back to the high point of our... Whatever it was that made us act so weird. The drinks must have been spiked, I thought with a chuckle. We headed down the road to my house, and as I made my way slowly up the driveway, I stumbled over a lone, small, plum-sized pebble. I picked it up, tossing it between my two hands with half my usually decent coordination. I didn't drop it at least. My brain seemed to force me down memory lane, I remembered watching Romeo and Juliet with Rick and Chell. Chell said that most people know the story of Romeo and Juliet, and we should too. Rick said the only good bit was when everyone died. I thought it was cute. Chell yawned and said the story is always being repeated, sometimes in different contexts. I liked the bit where Romeo went to see Juliet on her little balcony.

Rick banging into my back shook me out of that flashback, and I grinned insanely. He laughed with me, looking at the rock. With romantic thoughts filling my head, I thew the stone towards our bedroom window. It would serve well enough for a balcony. However, I fell short, and it hit the glass on the front door instead. My biggest mistake was assuming the stone would bounce back, causing no damage at all. But of course, I was wrong, and a smash tinkled loudly across the drive to my ears.

**Chell POV** - I returned home reasonably early, at about midnight. I guessed Wheatley would be at home or at Ricks. However I found both homes dark and empty, so decided to sit and wait. When the clock drew near one in the morning, I began to panic heavily. What if they were in an accident or lost or had been hurt? It would all be my fault. My heart longed for Wheatley, and would be at rest to see Rick too surprisingly. He was a decent friend most of the time after all. The sound of smashed glass woke me from my worried state, but caused a new type of fear. I thought it could be Aperture related, or at the very least a burglar or psychopathic mass murderer. Shaking heavily, I suppressed a scream, and stalked into the kitchen to grab Wheatley's baseball bat. For some unknown reason he likes to keep it in the freezer, and that is where I found it. He said it made more sense to knock someone out cold with a frozen bat. I just told him he was an idiot and kissed his cheek affectionately. What if I had seen Wheatley for the last time today? A lump formed in my throat, but I clasped the icy cold bat determinedly, and made my way to the hallway with hushed footsteps.

I nearly tripped over a small pebble that lay on the floor, and I picked it up curiously. There was a hole in the glass on the front door, and I could hear subdued laughter outside. It has to be some teenagers having their idea of a joke, I thought angrily, raising the bat slightly and wrenching the door open. To my shock and surprise, Rick and Wheatley stared back at me, equally flabbergasted. They were looking with fear at the bat, and I figured I must have looked quite angry holding it. I let it clatter to the floor, releasing a sigh. Rick was wearing Wheatley's jacket for some reason, and they both looked like they had been dragged through a bush backwards. Stepping nimbly around the glass and the bat, I wandered outside, several paces closer to them. Wheatley shook himself from his trance, and grinned lopsidedly at me.

"Hug me, my Juliet!" He cried, deranged, and pulled me into his strong arms. He reeked of alcohol. Surely they couldn't be drunk? How would they ever discover the incentive to do that? At any rate, he wasn't himself, and he seemed to be trapped in the mindset of some form of dysfunctional Romeo and Juliet.

I pushed Wheatley away, and grabbed his unusually cold hand. He gripped it back, cocking his head to one side curiously. To answer my question on the boys' sober levels, Rick suddenly pulled a distorted face, bent over, and threw up. They were both solidly drunk. With a groan, I pushed Wheatley inside, then went back for Rick. He was standing on the drive rubbing his head, but at least he'd stopped retching.

"Come on Rick," I called, holding the door open for him. He could barely walk forwards, and it took him an age to meander into the house. I shut and locked the door once we were all inside, not wanting to have to go searching for two drunks when they sauntered off somewhere. Wheatley lurched around the front room, whilst Rick lay down on the sofa and passed out.

I hugged Wheatley worriedly, not sure what I could do except keep an eye on him till he passed out or sobered up. He hugged me back tightly, lifting me up unstably so his breath was stale and alcoholic on my neck. At least he hadn't tumbled yet. Yet. Despite the fact they both got drunk somehow, at least none of us experienced angry drunks. I don't think I could have coped with one or two strong men on a rampage. At that point, Wheatley quivered slightly, and I looked him in the eye anxiously. He seemed okay, but I slid to the ground just in case.

"We need to go to bed now," I said slowly and clearly, holding my hand out to my dazed boyfriend. He shook his head, and giggled.

"I'm not tired," he retorted, taking a step back and tripping over the sofa behind him. With a small yelp, he flipped onto Rick, who although groaned, did not wake, and landed on the floor with a loud thud. As hilarious as that was, I didn't laugh, and instead rushed to Wheatley's side. He had passed out on the floor, breathing heavily. I struggled helplessly, trying to haul Wheatley upstairs, but I could barely drag the heavy man more than a few feet away from the sofa. All I could do was grab some pillows and blankets, take off his belt so it didn't cut into him whilst he slept, and wrap him up as comfortably as possible on the hard floor. Even Rick received a blanket and a couple of pillows from me, despite the fact I knew damn right he had got Wheatley drunk with him. Rick didn't get a goodnight kiss on the cheek like Wheatley did though, for obvious reasons. I swept up the broken glass, put a cover over the door to keep out any bad weather that may come through the hole, and switched off all the lights with a sigh. I guessed it would be a lonely night as I climbed into bed without Wheatley, but I was relieved he made it home safely, and he wasn't a burglar or murderer or worse trying to break into the house. In fact, his drunken intent was sweet and romantic, but the carrying out went badly wrong. I closed my eyes, and attempted to fall asleep.

After an hour of being unable to sleep, I grabbed my pillow and a blanket drowsily and jolted downstairs to curl up with Wheatley. He was lying on his side, and as I lay beside him, my nose leant against his. Funny how as soon as I was reunited with Wheatley, I fell asleep immediately.

My eyes opened wearily as I felt movement beside me. Wheatley's eyes were open too, and he was fidgeting anxiously.

"I fell asleep here didn't I?"

"Yeah. I couldn't sleep so I joined you," I replied truthfully, yawning acutely.

"I went all weird because someone spiked my drink Chell, I promise I'm not usually like that!"

"I know. You drank alcohol, didn't you?"

"It was called beer technically."

"Yeah, beer is a type of alcohol. Alcohol, when taken in bulk, will make you drunk. Being drunk is basically when you lose all control of your behaviour and faculties, so I don't think you should do it again," I grimaced, holding his hand and tucking my head into his chest. He wrapped his free arm around me, warm and safe.

"I won't. It was horrible, and now I have a huge headache. I'm sorry,"

"It's fine," I murmured, closing my eyes again. Wheatley copied, and we soon fell asleep again.

The next time I awoke was when Rick poked me repeatedly.

"What?" I snapped, looking at him with an annoyed glare. Wheatley needed his sleep, otherwise he would have to deal with the hangover. I didn't want Rick to wake him, just like a mother with her baby.

"What happened!" He demanded. When I didn't answer within his millisecond time limit, he continued in a rush. "Why do I have a massive headache, why am I on your sofa, why did I sleep here last night? Why are you sleeping on the floor with Wheatley? Why do I smell weird?" he looked down curiously, then added, "Why am I wearing Wheatley's jacket?" He unbuttoned the first few buttons, then looked up with disgust. Underneath the coat he was topless. I looked at him and then the sleeping Wheatley in quick succession, slightly weirded out. Apart from the topless one, I answered all of Rick's questions, let him have a shower and borrow some of Wheatley's clothes, and gave him a cup of coffee. When Rick was positive I was telling the truth, he left to go back home, and knocked on the door wearing his own clothes half an hour later. Wheatley's clothes were folded neatly across his arm. He handed them to me, then admitted he was going back home. I nodded sympathetically, then went to have a shower and get dressed myself, leaving Wheatley to sleep.

**Wheatley POV** - I woke up and looked at the clock, sensing a long time had passed. It was five in the evening. Whoa. My throat was dry and my stomach rumbling, so I heaved myself to my feet unsteadily. The headache had disappeared at least. I walked sleepily (how I was still tired I did not know) towards the kitchen, and found Chell making dinner. The washing machine was whirring its' little head off, and I could see my jacket in there among other clothes. The noise it emitted allowed me to sneak up behind Chell, and I grabbed her into an affectionate hug from behind. She laughed, rocking back into me.

"I love you," I whispered.

"I love you too," she replied, holding my hands around her waist in the cutest of ways. With a grin, I leant over her head to grab a cup from the cupboard, and poured myself a glass of water, drinking it quickly without breath.

I watched Chell make dinner, occasionally kissing or hugging her, but mostly staying out of the way for fear of my disastrous cooking skills. We sat down to eat it not long after, then spent the evening curled up on the sofa chatting, with a film running in the background. I then helped her gather up the blankets and pillows that I had strewn across the floor (it looked like a scene from a sleepover party) and we went up to bed, falling back into our usual routine again. Tomorrow Chell had work, and I would probably play my guitar or invite Rick over to watch TV. I was pretty sure that I had experienced being drunk one too many times, and could live without it. Life could go back to normal, or so I presumed...

**AN/... Yay chapter 7 is complete. Whilst Rick and Wheatley are drunk, ignore any grammar/spelling mistakes, I probably put them there on purpose =P and I hope you found this chapter at least party amusing. Oooh cliffhanger, sorry about that =D this chapter wasn't really relevant for anything, but I thought I'd give you guys a short break before I went back into the serious stuff hehe, love everyone who reads New Life!**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN/... My cat is lying on me asleep and I don't want to move her so I pretty much wrote this in one go haha xD. Had to restart this chapter a lot, so hope you like it =)**

**Chapter 8 - Not Expecting The Expecting**

**Chell POV** - I woke with a start, clinging to the sheets with barnacle fingers. My eyes darted around the room, getting my bearings. One glance to my right confirmed that Wheatley was not sleeping soundly beside me, in fact he wasn't in this bedroom at all. Slowly, despite my deep, raspy, heavy breaths, I began to calm down, though my heart was beating faster than usual and my eyes still held a film of apprehension. For the first time in a very long while, I had had a nightmare.

That never really happens to me, not when the presence of Wheatley sleeping beside me keeps the bad dreams (especially those awful nightmares concerning Aperture Laboratories) away. Even though Wheatley was obviously just awake and out of bed before me, in the past that still hadn't caused an apparition of bad dreams to haunt my mind relentlessly all night long. I know very well that Wheatley slept alongside me last night, I vividly recall his warm, soft hands on the small of my back, cupping me closer to him so my nose lay against his sweet smelling chest and his chin rested on top of my head. It was like that when we both fell asleep, and in all terms we had already discovered, should have kept my nightmares away.

"So why did I have one then?" I whimpered aloud with short, worried breaths. "Something's not right. Something's not right at all."

Stepping out of bed hastily, I ignored the queasy feeling I felt, and rushed downstairs. I could hear Wheatley talking in the front room, and I slowed down to listen undetected. I could only hear half a conversation, so I assumed he was on the phone to someone. I shouldn't be eavesdropping so suspiciously, but the offer seemed too good to refuse.

"I don't know what to do though! What about Chell?" A short pause followed, then Wheatley replied with a gentle chuckle.

"Love you too. Yeah okay I'm on my way." He hung up, pulled a worried face, and shoved his hands into his jacket quickly. I bolted quietly back up the stairs, so he didn't see me as he left. The front door clicked shut, and I was left alone. I collapsed at the top of the stairs, not having the energy to move elsewhere. Where was my Wheatley going? I held my stomach tightly, the sick feeling returning to me in a powerful wave. I didn't have any suspicions of him in the slightest, although I did wonder who he was talking to. Some part of my brain decided to recall the chuckle as more of a schoolgirl's giggle when a cute boy was talking to her, although my heart thwacked my ribs violently, telling me I was exaggerating in my ill state. Surely Wheatley had not found someone else? Another walloping heart beat punished me for being so foolish. Of course he hadn't, Wheatley may be extremely handsome but with no knowledge of his past I assumed he would come across as mad, possibly even completely insane! I was sure he was just talking to a friend, or joking around. Although he seemed concerned about me, and I worried he had grown suspicious of my recent odd behaviour. Some part of me didn't want to tell him... Not until I had proven it to myself. Giving out a long, miserable sigh, I realised how tired I still felt and went back to bed, longing for Wheatley's arms around me.

**Wheatley POV -** the phone rang, and rang, until it finally got picked up after fifteen long seconds.

"What is it Wheatley? You woke me up," Rick groaned on the other end, sounding annoyed and grumpy.

"I'm worried about Chell, can we talk?"

I heard distinctive creaking and banging sounds, like Rick trying to sit up in bed and banging his head on the headrest. "Sure mate. What's wrong?"

"Well she seems different recently... All distant. And she's gone paler, her eyes look sunken and tired and she doesn't like some of her favourite foods anymore. Also, last night, she was having a nightmare I think! It was really scary, she was writhing around all over the place and there was nothing I could do!"

"That don't sound too good. Although in all fairness, aren't nightmares a normal part of human life?" Rick muttered. I ignored his bad grammar and continued worrying.

"But we never have bad dreams when we sleep together!" I whined, close to stomping my foot like a little human.

"There's a first for everything, and anyway you haven't had bad dreams together yet perhaps, but whose saying you can't have them at all?" His attempts to reassure were weak, and I whimpered with mental agony.

"Maybe so. But what about the other stuff?" I quizzed him anxiously.

"Well, everybody's taste buds change over time. Has she been ill or sick at all?"

"Not as far as I know..." I tailed off. Rick really had a knack of making me sound thick and him intelligent.

"I guess you should just try not to worry then, if she's not throwing up or feeling icky," he muttered in an odd tone. "Come to mine, I'm bored."

"I don't know what to do though! What about Chell?"

"Awh, come on mate. I'll cheer you up, yeah? Bring along some food and we'll watch a movie and play guitar hero... I'll even let you win again? Look, I'm sure Chell is just a little tired, give her some breathing room." His offer was tempting, and I thought a little pride from beating Rick at video games would do me some good. I snorted a barely eligible agreement, but Rick heard it well enough. "Cool! I love you man, see you in a bit!"

"Love you too. Yeah, okay I'm on my way," I chuckled, bemused, then hung up, pulling on my jacket with quaky hands. I didn't want to disturb Chell, so instead I imagined - no willed - myself sending her a sweet little kiss, bound in crisp yet soft patterned paper and tied with a silky ribbon.

Smiling absentmindedly to myself, I opened the front door, and stepped into the unusually warm Autumn haze. Clouds covered the air, turning it into a smoky white blanket, but I could feel the sun's heat on my pale skin. Bright eyed kids ran around me, laughing as they pounced on leaf piles, scattering them profoundly. The youngsters acknowledged me with a cheerful 'good morning mister!' and carried on their little carefree ways with enthusiasm and glee. I remembered back to the summer, when Chell kissed me in the rain... Oh how much had changed over the course of a month! Now Chell seldom kissed me, she seemed to retreat in her little hole at the sign of anything we used to enjoy, seemed to be shrouding herself from me. What was she hiding? I turned the opposite direction from Rick's house, headed first to the corner shop. I couldn't be bothered with the ten minute trek to the supermarket when there was a perfectly serviceable corner shop not three minutes up the street! They of course didn't hold supplies for a full length weekly shop, but they would do for a few snacks.

The bell tinkled loudly, announcing my arrival at the poky shop. It was full of little children buying sweets, and a few old women buying newspapers and nattering to the stern lady who worked behind the till. She wasn't stern with the old people, not in the least, and was kind to the children, but she had a strong disliking for me. Hark, half the village hated me! Only the children showed any liking towards me, and I could hardly buy my supplies off them. It was weird, everyone seems to adore Chell, but me, well when I arrived countless people told her to not get involved with me. Apparently I am a no-good bad influence, who nearly killed them by setting my house on fire. Have they never heard of second chances?

Trying to look as harmless as possible, I smiled meekly at the gawping women, and grabbed what I came for passively. I vaguely heard whispers of 'I heard he nearly killed his friend by letting him go into an unsafe treehouse,' and 'I heard he went crazy in the hospital and ran away' and 'Poor Chell can do so much better than that dangerous lummox!' I sniffed, hurt by their judgements and rumours of me, holding back tears. A little girl in front of me turned to smile up at me.

"You're tall,' she grinned wistfully. "I wish I would grow."

"Nah, you're a great height. I bet you're a master at hide and seek!" I reassured the young girl, happy to show those gossipers that I can be kind and loving. They tutted quietly, but didn't say anything.

"Yeah, I am pretty good," she admitted, straightening her spine proudly. "Do you like Chell? As in _like_ like?" she giggled, blinking her eyes innocently. One was blue, the other green, it was very cute.

"Yeah, do you go to her nursery?" I asked curiously, as the queue shuffled forwards. Oh phew, the old women had left, and I was surrounded by little kids and one grumpy old shopkeeper.

"Uh huh. Chell really likes you."

"How'd you know that?" I leant closer to this little girl, my mouth crinkling into a smug grin.

"She talks about you all the time. Wheatley this, Wheatley that, Wheatley can play guitar, Wheatley is so kind. It's no wonder all the adults hate you, she seems so alienated!" I winked at her. "Well, they can carry on hating sweetie, 'cause this alien isn't going anywhere!"

Her laugh was innocent enough as she pushed her money across the counter and waved me goodbye. Out the corner of my eye, I noticed the woman behind the counter frowning.

"You watch what you say to them kids, young man," she warned me sternly, holding out her gnarled fingers for my items so she could scan them. I gave them to her kindly enough, not needing to give another reason for them to hate me.

"Maybe they're on the right tracks giving me a chance. I accidentally started a fire, was knocked unconscious by suffocating on smoke, was half dead, and yet you all hate me for it! Why should I be resented for burning one house in your ruddy village?" I snarled, angry at my poor treatment.

"Because you're a public menace! You disappeared with Chell for two long days, then returned with her bloody and injured! You should look after her, she's a nice girl!"

"I can't be to blame for her injuries..." I whispered, although my head hang in shame and a tear dripped onto the counter. She stared at it with beady eyes, as if she previously assumed I was incapable of crying. Then she chuckled cruelly, knowing she'd struck me below the belt.

"There there honey, don't cry," a voice behind me called. I turned away from the sour woman to see a stranger before me. I recognised her as a nursery worker, but still cocked my head with confusion.

She had long black hair the shade of night gliding down her back, and she had fashioned the fringe into a pointed patch over one eye. The eye that wasn't covered was an alarming jade colour, very distinctive. Her cheek bones were high, and her skin tanned. There was an edge of exotic beauty to her, although the woman's voice sounded like it belonged in the northern countryside. I became perplexed at her sudden kindness, and the bewilderment soon turned to suspicion.

"Sorry, I forget we haven't technically met. I'm Melanie, Chell's friend. I work down at the nursery..." She searched my face for any sign of recognition. I stared back vacantly, and shoved some money at the squawking cashier behind me with a resigned snarl, grabbing the flimsy bag containing my shopping.

"Hi, nice to meet you," I said in a slightly off-key, surly tone.

"Yes, it really is. Can we talk for a minute," she stared at the other people in the shop. "Outside?" All I could do was nod and wander into the street again. Melanie followed quickly, and walked beside me as I headed for Rick's.

"Come to tell me to push off? I've heard it all before, and I love Chell and I'm not leaving, why can't people accept that and stay out of our private business!" I snapped at this woman who claimed to be Chell's friend.

"Oh no, not at all!" she cried, clearly taken aback. "I saw that stupid old cow moaning at you and I wanted to help you out. Now then, feel any obligation to tell me what's wrong? S'not in the nature of a strapping young lad like you to cry." Her voice had a thick country accent, and it took me a couple of seconds to decipher what I had just heard.

"Well... There's something wrong with Chell."

"I know," Melanie sighed, her mouth twisting into a sad, hurt line. "Do you know what it is - she won't tell me."

"Not exactly... She's just been acting so weird, and I don't know what to do! I'm really worried about her!" I wailed, distraught.

"Have you asked her what's wrong?" She asked, frown lines creasing her golden-brown forehead.

"Yeah, she told me she was absolutely fine!"

"I don't know then, I'm sorry. If you hear anything, let me know, I'm so worried for the poor thing!"

She spoke as though Chell was much younger than her, though surely there could not be more than a couple of years age difference. Chell looked around twenty-five, and this woman could only be labelled twenty eight at the very latest.

"Look, I have to go now. See you around I guess," I smiled, and turned to hurry past Rick's battered car. He probably expected me ages ago.

"Okay, take care of yourself now!" Although I figured she probably meant 'take care of Chell' more. I grinned nevertheless, she didn't seem so bad. At least she didn't scream in my face how useless I am. Most people do. In Aperture and out in the big world, in most eyes or optics I was a large waste of space.

Rick pulled open the front door, lunged for my arm, and pulled me inside, giving Melanie a saucy look and a wink.

"She's gorgeous!" Rick told me, shutting the door behind him with a grin. "Why was she talking to _you_?"

"Very funny," I said sarcastically, batting at his head. "She's Chell's friend and she was worried about her too." I deliberately left out the part about my crying, I didn't wish to be made a joke of right now.

"I could have her," he said, jutting his chin and running his fingers through his immaculately gelled hair. I laughed.

"Sure you could mate, sure you could. Anyway, I brought food so lets get this ball rolling!" As soon as I lifted up the shopping bag, Rick peered inside curiously.

"Aw yum! My favourite!" he exclaimed, pulling out a packet of digestive biscuits and trying to open them determinedly. I pulled the tab impatiently, and several biscuits toppled to the floor.

"Good one..." Rick muttered, ignoring my snorts of laughter which I tried to suppress. "You're on cleaning duty later, you know that?"

"I'm not cleaning your house, it would be like trying to clean a bomb site," I replied in a snarky fashion, making a point of stepping over the pile of tennis balls scattered in the doorway to the living room. Rick followed, smiling, and leapt ahead of me to lounge across the entire sofa. Chuckling to myself, I pressed play for the film that he had previously prepared, and plonked myself on Rick's calves with all the weight I could muster up, ignoring the protesting kicks and shoves I received. I sat like that for the rest of the film, throwing various food types at my slightly squashed friend as we guffawed in synchronisation with each other. This was a funny film, although in all fairness we laughed at anything together with our high levels of immaturity. Content that Rick's legs would be well and truly dead, I slid to the floor and landed with a deep thud. He lobbed a biscuit at me, and the smashed crumbs stuck to my hair like glue. I yanked him off the sofa by the feet, and he shrieked in surprise. Walloping him around the head with a cushion, I scrambled hastily to my feet and retreated to the sofa in a panting, giggling heap. It appeared to be raining cushions on my head, and I rolled onto my front, still having a laughing fit. I was vaguely aware of an also laughing Rick leaving the room. He returned with two jet black gaming guitars.

"There's only one way to solve this..." He started, grinning.

"Guitar hero!" We both yelled, accepting the challenge.

**Chell POV** - tall walls loomed above me. I was trapped... Trapped with no way out. I could hear Wheatley's voice, but I couldn't see him anywhere. I cried out, distraught, and spun around in a tight circle. No windows, no doors, just white. It was like being in the midst of thick, heavy fog, with no compass and no sense of where you were or what direction you were facing. The lost and lonely feeling disconcerted me, and I sank to the floor. Alone, alone, alone...

"Chell!" A little boy's voice screamed. "Chell! Chell!"

"Who are you?" I yelled into the empty room, tears running down my face. A young boy suddenly appeared out of nowhere, standing in an open doorway. He had bright blue eyes, and pale blonde hair. His face was bright, yet his mouth turned down miserably.

"You are ignoring me. You don't want me." The little boy whispered, slowly fading. "You don't want me to exist..." His words clung to the air, and I felt cruel and lonelier than ever. Despite the fact I had no idea who the strange child was, I had a pretty good idea who he represented. With a distressed whimper, my eyes shot open, and I saw my own ceiling at home spinning around and around.

I felt a cold hand on my forehead, a comfort to my feverishly hot temperature. I did not recognise the icy hand, it was not Wheatley. He was always warm... Oh how I longed for him! I sat up curiously, and I saw Rick perched on the edge of my bed. Wheatley was staring at me through horrified eyes from across the room. It was Rick's hand that touched my forehead. He smiled at me weakly, then stood up.

"She's just got a temperature. She'll be fine."

Wheatley threw himself at me, hugging me tight, ignoring my sweaty body. I was unsure how long they had witnessed me having a nightmare for, but didn't feel inclined to ask. I hugged him back, feeling dizzy and queasy and downright upset by my dream. That was when I felt something surge through me, and I retched violently. Rick was faster than Wheatley, pushing him out of the way and holding a bucket in front of me seconds before I threw up violently. Rick didn't react, didn't drop the bucket in disgust, he was surprisingly kind. Wheatley sat beside me, holding my loose hair out of the way and rubbing my back soothingly whilst I puked up my stomach innards. They were both being so kind, it shook away the looming loneliness my dream left me with flying fists.

My doubts climbed, and I began to fret about the boy in my brain really was trying to tell me something, but my heart didn't want to listen. Instead I willed myself to concentrate purely on the present, which involved Wheatley charging off to get me a glass of water, and Rick making sure I was finished then going to clean out the bucket downstairs. I stared into space, quite taken aback. How would Wheatley take the news? The queasy feeling passed quickly, and physically I felt right as rain again. However, I couldn't express this to the boys. They would expect me to be ill at least for today, and tomorrow too. Ugh. I lay back onto the bed, defeated.

Wheatley and Rick returned, their faces creased with worry. Rick felt my forehead again, and mutely frowned at the sudden lack of a temperature. He looked at my cheeks, which were no longer pale as a sheet, and his frown deepened. However, when Wheatley looked to him, he turned his expression into a neutral one, and continued to look after me as though I was ill. Wheatley snuggled up to me, stroking my damp hair and cradling me against his chest like a little toddler. He clucked his teeth soothingly, and made quiet shushing sounds. Rick claimed he was going to make dinner, and left me alone with Wheatley. I doubted he owned any cooking skills, and snuggled tighter into Wheatley's warmth. My fingers reached absentmindedly to his soft blonde hair, and I reeled in surprise to find it coated in biscuit crumbs. I raised my eyebrows, but pretended not to notice so Wheatley wouldn't rush to the mirror with his comb. My eyes felt heavy, and the systematic, calming strokes of my hair and back didn't help. Wheatley hugged me closer when I yawned, and began humming softly. I recognised the tune from the nursery, and when Wheatley began to sing in his soft, deep, soothing voice, my heart just about melted.

The song was a lullaby, and it comforted me to no end. I tucked my head into his sweet smelling shirt, ignoring the fact he had a slight hanging odour of fizzy drinks and ready salted crisps. His arms crept around me, pulling me closer still, then his hands clasped mine. He kissed my forehead, my hair, my fingers, until eventually I fell into peaceful sleep.

Rick woke us up a lot later on that day, because no light crept through the open curtains. I could see a few stars dotted about the cold bleak sky, and that was it. Wheatley's eyes were closed, and he was breathing deeply in his sleep. Rick nudged him again, and he woke up groggily, moaning.

"I've made dinner." He grinned, obviously proud of himself. He gently helped me to my feet, and even offered a tired Wheatley a hand up. We then clamoured downstairs to investigate Rick's 'cooking'. It actually wasn't so bad. I smiled politely, accepting his kind offering of chips, fish fingers, and peas. Wheatley inspected a chip rudely, but Rick just laughed heartily and slipped me an extra fish finger. Wheatley then proceeded to steal one of Rick's plate, and Rick claimed a handful of his chips. When they were both happy with their lot, they sat down beside me, and began to eat with reasonable enthusiasm.

Wheatley openly admitted he was worried about my illness, but Rick didn't mutter a word. He looked at me through knowing eyes, and smiled weakly. I knew he knew. I looked down at my plate of food, picking at it fussily. I usually adored chips, but now they seemed to cling in my throat and turn my stomach. I tried the fish fingers, and my stomach accepted those with welcome arms. The peas, I also still enjoyed, although in the past I had held a slight disliking for the little green mushy vegetables. It was odd, as if my whole diet had been flipped upside-down, and my taste buds were having a battle on my tongue, killing off my love for certain foods and bringing new likes into the troops.

Wheatley assumed my lack of appetite was due to my illness, and Rick didn't comment at all, although when Wheatley wasn't looking, he squeezed my hand reassuringly and whispered into my ear 'we need to chat later'. I giggled nervously, and rushed to gather plates and cutlery and wash up. He left it at that, and wished us goodnight, pulling on his hoody and leaving the house with long cheery whistles. I sighed, and ran off upstairs, holding back my tears. Wheatley knew better than to follow, again assuming I was in the presence of some great illness, and just needed rest to heal. If only.

I sat on our bed cross legged, fingering the mobile in my hands. I sighed, and forced my fingers to find Rick's contact and call him. He answered second ring, obviously waiting for me.

"Hey, I was just about to call you."

"Hi, what is it?" I asked, although I already had a pretty good idea.

"You have to tell Wheatley, Chell. I am not stupid, and I know you aren't ill with no flu or fever or god knows whatever else he thinks you have! Tell him now, or else he' only find out the hard way." Rick hang up, though I knew he wasn't angry with me. He liked to be blunt in phone calls, to state his purpose of the call, then hang up straight away, without saying goodbye. Taking in a deep ragged breath, I got hesitantly to my feet, and trudged down the annoyingly short flight of stairs towards Wheatley, preparing what I should say. I decided to keep it reasonably to the point.

Wheatley had cleared up the last remnants of dinner, and was sitting on the sofa, twiddling his thumbs. I sat beside him, and got lost in his beautiful, concerned blue eyes. I prised his hands away from each other, so I could clasp them protectively.

"What's wrong, luv? Something's not right," he asked, frowning slightly with worry. I gave my best reassuring smile, and decided to just blurt it out. I knew, Rick had figured it out from my behaviour, but Wheatley was so ignorant in this subject.

"I'm pregnant."

**Wheatley POV** -

"Wait... Wait what? You're... You're... You're pregnant?" I stammered, trying desperately to not avert her gaze and bolt out the room. Surely this was just some silly joke, and any second now she would laugh and tell me to stop being an idiot, because that's not possible. But she didn't.

"We're having a baby."

My heart sped up, hammering uncomfortably at my chest and throat. My head grew light, lighter than I liked, so it was unpleasant.

"We're having a baby?" I repeated like some mental case. "A... A little human?" She nodded futilely, intent on going mute on me. Deep inside of me, everything was going haywire. My stomach did hundreds of little backflips, over and over and over again. My brain throbbed, becoming useless at retaining information. And my heat, oh my God, my heart, it was stuttering along its old ways, missing beats, speeding up, slowing down, simply making me feel like complete and utter crap. I could feel my ribs convulsing, containing lungs suddenly full of lead and near impossible to fill.

I was going to be a dad.

My breathing grew laborious at the thought, and I shuddered, positive that if I were standing up right now my knees would have buckled there and then. I was going to be a dad, a father. My mind played the news repeatedly, and I hissed at the torture frustratedly. I had been caught off guard, and thrown into a flurry of shock and surprise and downright nausea. Babies need a lot of work, even I knew that. They had no means of communication, and everything you gave them was only a guess at what would serve their needs. What if I got it wrong? I couldn't live with myself if I hurt Chell's child, especially when it was mine as well. Oh God, what kind of moronic spawn would I produce if it took after me? Another thing, I could hardly bring up a child, I mean they need coaxing on how to be human, and I've only just got the hang of it all now. How am I ever going to teach the poor little thing? My heart ached, as though a little child was already hanging from it, hitting it with chubby hands and vandalising it with loving crayon drawings of wonky flowers and suns.

"Wheatley?" Chell whispered anxiously, shaking me out of my daydream. I looked down at our entwined hands miserably.

"You know I'm going to be a terrible parent, right?" I muttered. "But not you. You'll be the best mother any child could ever wish for."

"Don't be silly Wheatley. Kids adore you, they look up to you and listen to your kindly advice. They clamour to see you, to speak to you, to claim at least one speck of your charming attention. I know for sure you will be the an amazing dad." My face crumpled at Chell's final word, and I looked into her gorgeous grey eyes intently. My heart warmed up at this compliment, making me feel useful and wanted and loved.

"Will it hurt?" I whispered still concerned for my Chell.

"Only a little, but our little child will be worth it," she replied just as softly, stroking my cheek. I rubbed it against hers gently. "Boy or girl?"

**Chell POV** - "I don't know!" I said in exasperation. How was I meant to know? I didn't know much about pregnancy, I never made it through much secondary school due to being kidnapped into testing on that stupid 'Bring Your Daughter To Work Day', and I never had much use for learning about it on any occasion from then onwards. Until now I guess. I shuddered, Aperture causing fear and pain to cut through me. Wheatley looked at me suspiciously, then his face softened. His large hand cupped my chin, lifting it to look at him. The over rested warmly on where our baby was growing.

"He's safe," Wheatley whispered, kissing me on the lips. "Or she. Who's to say at this point?" I smiled, secretly hoping for a little Wheatley with blue eyes, blonde hair and the cutest little lopsided grin ever. A sigh escaped my lips, and Wheatley kissed it tentatively, causing me to giggle slightly.

"We're going to be alright," I whispered, ducking my head into his soft, warm chest. "I'm sure of it."

**Wheatley POV** - What was I thinking? I know I'm going to be the worse parent ever known! I mean, I can't even look after myself! The problem is, I already love the baby, so I felt the need to be the best dad known to mankind. And that wasn't going to pan out well, I can't be a fatherly figure or a role model. All I do is crash cars, blow up microwaves, smash windows, or cause other forms of mass destruction. Knowing me I'd probably kill the thing, I grimaced. Perhaps I'll be a good dad though, I wondered calmly. At any rate Chell would be an amazing mum and make up for it. My heart tugged slightly at the thought of Chell having my baby. I already loved this unborn child, so how could I bear the crushing reality that I would not be a good dad. Why didn't Chell understand that I truly am not father material?

"Chell, can't you see?" I murmured, pulling her closer to me. "I spent half my life as a little metal ball, how can you even begin to believe I will be able to give out child useful guidance in the world? So maybe I'll play with them, be a friend, but I'll never make a good dad! I'm scared Chell, of all the bad decisions I've made in my life, I know that this isn't one and I don't want to mess up." My head sank down, and I stared at her stomach gently. Yes, I could see it now, the slightly protruding bump. She looked at me anxiously, probably scared I felt remorse or regret for getting her pregnant. But she quickly realised I was simply fascinated by this leash of new life we had so easily created, the new life that now lay in wait, slowly growing into a properly formed little human inside Chell's loving womb, as I splayed my long fingers across her stomach proudly. Because deep down, I knew my doubts were stupid and pointless, and that together we would make a great family.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN/ yaaay chapter 9 =). Keep an eye out for a new portal fanfic I might be writing with my best friend, I guess we'll start on that some time soonish ;). And you may know my friend as 'CompanionCube1410' hehe. Well, enjoy!**

**Chapter 9 - Unwelcome Memories**

**Wheatley POV - **

"Morning, loser!"

I leapt a mile in the air, being awoken so rudely by some intruder. I blinked, allowing my eyes to focus. Oh. It was just Rick, standing by my bed with his sharpened hair and piercing green eyes. But his mouth was curved into a friendly grin, and I relaxed immediately. I've seen an angry Rick before, and he was just being carried around by Chell. I'd hate to see an angry Rick with controllable fists.

"How'd you get in?" I groaned, checking my watch for the time. "Chell must be at work."

"She let me in as she left," he winked, and jumped on the bed uncomfortably close to my groin. Apparently it hurts if you get kicked there, and I didn't really want to test that theory. Rick began jumping up and down on the bed, laughing.

"Lighten up Wheats! You're gonna be a daddy!"

"And you're gonna break the bed!" I replied, although I couldn't help but grin. I was, I was going to be a daddy. He jumped again, making a point of it. I couldn't help but laugh, because he looked like a mid twenties, reasonably tough man bouncing up and down like a five year old.

"So, you happy?" he asked, gauging my expression carefully.

"Of course! It's just... Just..." I stammered, wondering whether Rick would truly understand.

"What?!" He cried, fit to burst. His smile quivered, and I felt so guilty. Rick seemed so excited about this, I felt like I had crushed a perfect moment for him.

"I'm ecstatic, it's just... Well... Well what if I hurt it? You know, do something wrong, like not feed it properly or not play with it properly? What if I'm a really sucky dad, and I ruin its life? I couldn't bear that, I couldn't live with myself if I hurt our little human, be it emotionally, physically, or mentally."

Rick's smile faded, eyes filling with concern and denial. His legs folded underneath him, and he plonked down cross-legged beside me.

"Don't be silly Wheatley. You're going to be a great dad."

"How so?" I muttered, sitting up and looking at my hands anxiously. Rick snorted, knocking off my comment as if it were completely insane.

"Kids just flock around you, like you're some big beacon guiding them to safety and protecting them from the bogey monster or whatever kids are scared of nowadays-"

"What's a bogey monster?" I burst out laughing, it sounded ridiculous, something from a comedy rather than a horror.

"I have absolutely no idea, now let me finish! As I was saying, kids adore you, they love everything you do, and nothing you do is wrong - not ever. You're a natural. Your child will be the luckiest little boy or girl who has ever lived, they will have the number one dad."

I yanked Rick into a massive hug, close to crying with happiness and sentiment. He didn't push away.

"Thanks mate. You're awesome," I told him earnestly, although at times he was the complete opposite.

"Yeah, you're pretty good too... Sometimes," he teased, grinning smugly. "You must be great to Chell, she loves you so much, even when you go all overprotective moron on her. Loves you so much she wants a family with you, and she's so willing to forget your past, forget the bad things. I can tell, to her you're pure gold, without a single flaw - it's like any mistakes you make are instantly thrown out of the window and overruled. I wish I could have that with someone, I'm just going to be forever alone," he sighed, and I felt bad for flaunting all this family stuff in front of him. He really is an amazing best friend, like what humans call a brother I suppose.

"Nah, you'll have a family one day, I'm sure of it. And you know you're welcome here anytime, apart from at seven in the morning when I'm trying to sleep," I added, attempting to turn the situation comical and move on. It worked, because Rick laughed.

"It was funny waking you though! I'm going to go downstairs, so you can get ready, then we'll go out somewhere if you like?"

"Sure thing, but don't eat all of my food," I smiled, and leapt off the bed reasonably quickly. Rick left, shutting the door gently behind him, and leaving me alone with my thoughts. And good ol'Wheatley had an idea.

Once I was showered and dressed, I armed myself with a comb and brushed the little tiny knots and tangles from my hair. Then I ruffled and messed it up a bit, defining my big fringe that swept across my face to the left. It shone in the light from the open window, glistening blonder than ever. With a vain smirk, I charged out of the room to see if I could salvage some food from my kitchen that Rick hadn't devoured. The crime scene wasn't too bad, just some crisps and some bread missing. I grabbed a bowl, filled it with coco pops, and drowned them in milk, carefully listening for the magical popping sounds it made and waiting for the milk to turn chocolatey. When both needs had been filled, I joined Rick on the sofa, and began to dig in. He was eating a crisp sandwich, and I rolled my eyes. So healthy... Although I guess I couldn't talk, eating a bowl of chocolate smothered cereal and milk. Still, I loved it, and nothing could ever make my skinny body gain an ounce of weight. I am obviously doomed to be as tall and thin as a spindly lamppost for the rest of my life. Or one of them creepy stick insect things that look like something from the apocalypse, or a horror film. Shuddering violently, I pushed them away from my mind, imagining I could feel little insects crawling all over me now. Yuck.

**Chell POV** - "You're pregnant?" Melanie squealed for about the hundredth time today. I groaned, this was obviously going to take longer than I'd hoped. Why couldn't she just accept it and move on, instead of going all high school on me? I mean, seriously!

"Yes. I'm pregnant."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know till yesterday!" I lied. In truth I had had my suspicions for a while, but nobody needed to know that.

"What did Wheatley say?" she smirked and squirmed, expecting some hugely romantic scene probably.

"I dunno. Just kinda... Questions. And disbelief. And then joy."

"What about you? What do you think of it all?"

"I'm really happy, but I wish people would stop asking so many questions!" I hissed, annoyed. The fewer questions people asked me, the better. Mine and Wheatley's relationship wasn't exactly... Normal. Same goes for our past. Nobody on the outside can ever know about Aperture, they wouldn't be able to deal with it for starters, then they'd get everyone involved, and Wheatley and I could get done for about a hundred different crimes. If our secrets stay locked up, we can at least try to be normal. That's all we really want.

"I'm sorry," Melanie whispered, patting my arm. "I just got a little bit excited."

"A little?" I laughed, sitting down to play with the kids. They just got a new dollhouse, and were swarming it like bees. I had to rescue one from getting his hand stuck in the little plastic doorway, then continued helping them 'decorate' the roof with pink sequins and tiny plastic guns the boys had ripped off the soldiers in the army bucket. I love children, but the things they come up with can be so strange. _Soon, soon I would have my own little boy or girl to play with_, I thought serenely.

"Is Wheatley coming here today?" Tommy suddenly popped into my vision, looking hopeful. He had really taken a liking to Wheatley, and they only met for all of five minutes. He asks the same question every day, and everyday it's the same reply.

"I don't think so sweetie, maybe another day."

"Oh..." He muttered, and wandered off miserably to sit alone in the corner. I'd have to bring Wheatley in some day, the poor boy was getting really down about it.

Just at that moment, my phone rang. I answered, worried I would get caught chattig on my mobile during my shift.

"What is it Wheatley? I'm not supposed to be on my phone right now!"

"When's your lunch hour?"

"Midday."

"Cool, cool. How long is it?"

I laughed, "An hour..."

"Okay, nice, see you then!"

"Wait what?" I called, but he had hung up. That man is so unpredictable.

As promised, Wheatley showed up at twelve, leaning against the doorway. The light behind him glittered through his hair, turning it a beautiful golden colour. His blue eyes shone with anticipation, and he grinned my favourite lopsided grin as I picked up my bag and headed towards him.

"Where are you going?" Melanie called after me, looking slightly dejected and lonely. I shrugged, motioning towards Wheatley. He looked up at my friend, and smiled his kindest smile.

"You wanna come?"

Melanie's face lit up, I had never seen her so bright and cheerful. I don't think many people were that nice to her. She grabbed her handbag with one lithe movement, and jogged after me.

My arms ran around Wheatley's waist, then stroked my fingers through his soft, shiny hair, and his gentle hands lifted me off the ground slightly so he could kiss my lips without bending down. I kissed him back, then slid down his body to the floor again. Wheatley interlocked his fingers with mine, and Melanie followed, grinning like a Cheshire cat. However, when we got outside, there was Rick, peering at us anxiously. I wasn't attracted to him in anyway at all apart from as a friend, and sometimes maybe even family, but I could confirm he looked more handsome than he did usually. His t-shirt was clean for once, pure velvety black in colour and clinging to his muscular arms and chest. His jeans were also clean, and weren't ripped. I had never seen his eyes so bright, they were like cat's eyes in the dark, and his hair was a deep chocolate brown, obviously covered in some form of colour enhancing gel. Of course it was shaped into little spikes, and they framed his pale face like a proud mane.

"You haven't killed the baby yet then?" He chuckled jokingly, mock punching Wheatley's arm. "Hey Chell. Hey Chell's friend," he winked at Melanie, and I gave Wheatley a judging look._ Were the boys in on some form of hook up between Rick and my friend?_ He smiled in reply, kissing my nose affectionately. I rolled my eyes, but did not utter a word of their silly plan.

"Melanie, this is Rick, Rick, this is Melanie," I muttered offhandedly.

"Hi," Melanie smiled, relieved she wasn't going to be a tag along whilst Wheatley and I went all lovey-dovey with each other. "So where are we going?"

"Park?" Wheatley and Rick replied in unison. Yep, this was definitely planned. I beckoned for Wheatley to lower his head to my level, and he obliged instantly.

"This is never going to work you know!" I whispered quietly in his ear.

"Yes it will!" He replied, out loud. Rick and Melanie looked at us with confused and weirded out expressions, and he blushed dark red. What an idiot.

We walked slowly behind Rick, who was chatting in an endless stream to Melanie without breath, holding hands and giggling quietly between ourselves. It wasn't far to the park, and it really wasn't the height of romantic scenes, but it would do. A long stretch of dark green grass lay beneath us, and trees and bushes surrounded the whole thing. Several little children with their mothers were playing in the tiny kiddy playground, but they were the only people here. Orange and brown leaves scattered in the wind, flying around us like a mysterious fog. Rick nodded to Wheatley, and Wheatley made a shushing motion, placing a long finger on my pink lips gently. Before I had a second to react, Wheatley picked me up, and bolted over a nearby bush, so we could hide behind it and leave a confused Melanie with an eager Rick. They wandered off in the opposite direction to look for us, and Wheatley finally removed his hand from my mouth and set me on the ground.

"What was that all about?" I demanded, arms crossed in a sincere manner.

"To give them some space! Anyway, it's fun back here," Wheatley replied, kissing me lustfully.

"Cut it out you overgrown buffoon! You could have really hurt our baby!"

"What do you mean?" He replied, pulling away and eyeing my stomach suspiciously as though it could explode any second now.

"Well, jumping over the bush, it could have jolted the baby and made me have a miscarriage or something!"

"A miss-what?"

"Miscarriage. The sudden unplanned death of an unborn child."

"Oh my god I'm so sorry I didn't know please forgive me!" He rushed, tripping over words like a dog would hurdles.

"It's okay, just be careful next time," I responded, kissing him lovingly. He returned it, and then started up his regular banter about nothing in particular that always made me giggle. By the time we had to leave, we were both guffawing so hard our sides hurt.

**Melanie POV** -That was a strange outing, and I can't help but think it was all planned. Coincidental that Wheatley would suddenly disappear with Chell and leave me _alone_ with this boy claiming to be named Rick. One second they were behind us squealing like little piglets, the next they were gone! Rick suggested we look on the other side of the park, and I stupidly agreed. As soon as we had taken not three steps, he began hopelessly flirting, and when he finally got somewhere with me, he completely blew it!

"Should we go look for them?" he asked, motioning for the opposite side of the park. Opportunity took his fancy as I agreed, and he tried to pull off a seductive smile.

"You have nice hair."

"Errm... Thank you?" I replied awkwardly. This wasn't so fun.

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

"No."

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"No!" I shrieked, deeply offended. "I'm straight."

"Cool, cool. Me too," he replied, delving his hands into his pockets and kicking the toadstools out of the ground, sending them flying across the cloudy sky.

"Do you like sports?"

"Not really, I mean, it's okay I guess. Baseball's pretty good though, I have to admit," I said honestly, managing a small smile. Rick blatantly meant well, but he could have been talking to a wooden post for all the effect he had on me.

"Awh! I love baseball! I used to play it with Wheatley... Until I broke Chell's window. But it was all Wheatley's fault really, I mean he threw the ball at a weird angle, and my natural response was to hit it, but it went into a curveball and smashed the window. S'okay though, I fixed the window straight away, only took a few minutes."

"How'd you fix the window so quickly?" Awe filled my voice.

"Duct tape," he grinned, running his hand through his hair as casually as possible. Hm, not quite the mechanical genius I had in mind. Still, this guy had potential as a comedian. Maybe not a boyfriend.

"I should go really," I started, then saw his face drop. "Maybe another time?"

"Yeah that sounds fanta-"

Suddenly, his voice cut out, and his eyes went big. Rick was staring at something behind me, and whatever it was it bloody scared him.

Like a clap of thunder, his hands flew to his hair, tearing at it with frantic fingers. His eyes darted between two points behind me, and he went as white as a sheet. Emitting choked sounds, Rick's eyes clouded over, and every single hair on his body visibly stood on little goosebump podiums. In a blink-and-you'd-miss-it flash, this strange, scared man bolted off, nearly tripping over in the process. All I could do was stare after him in shock, not completely aware of what just happened.

Warily, I spun around, but no object immediately struck fear into my veins. There stood a boy, maybe about sixteen, with pointy black hair that gleamed, even in the sudden lack of sunshine. His eyes were emerald, with a brown stripe in the left iris. He walked alongside a woman, maybe about mid-thirties. She looked tired, weary, exhausted. The poor woman's eyes were sunken into her head, her mouth lined with the wrinkles of a ghost smile that no longer existed. Her long brown hair and fudge-coloured eyes still held some beauty though, this was obviously a once stunning girl. Not anymore. As odd as this pair appeared, there was nothing freaky about them. Rick must have been looking at something else, there was no way these people could have frightened him so. Releasing a confused and rejected smile, I turned and headed back towards the nursery, completely alone.

**Rick POV** - Oh God. Oh God no. I ran, ran until my heart was pounding, and even then I continued. My legs set themselves into a rhythm, one-two, three-four, so that I truly was unstoppable. My brain screamed at me, thumping at the inside of my skull with its old gnarled fists. My jaw clenched, unmoving like a sheet of metal. My shoulder blades twitched restlessly, and my legs kept charging. One-two, three-four, unstoppable...

The memories that I so long ago tried to push away wouldn't stop haunting me, scratching at my heart till it was no more than a bloody pulp. And there was nothing I could do. I was trapped, trapped in this limbo of my mind, nobody would set me free. The woman, the woman, I knew her. I know her. Yet she doesn't know me, not anymore. Trapped in limbo, trapped... I screamed aloud, ignoring the strange looks people gave me, and sprinted even faster, acknowledging the uncomfortable feeling of a racing pulse in my throat and chest and wrist with a subdued sadness. When I could not run anymore, I slowed to a stop, collapsed in a corner, and cried till I could not cry anymore.

"Trapped, trapped in limbo..." I murmured, till all life ebbed from my tormented body, and I fell into a troubled form of semi-consciousness.

**AN/... Heheheh sorry to leave you hanging on Rick there ;) I have to desert this side of him for a few chapters, so apologies. I guess if you really really do want spoilers, ask me! Otherwise, be patient little people and wait haha. Please review, they just kinda cheer me up and make me want to write more! =D**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN/... So, I'm back! Sorry for the long wait since last update! Also sorry to those people who think this story is getting weird because of Rick, I promise all will be revealed in most likely chapter 11 or 12. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 10 - Bad Weather**

**Wheatley POV - **Rain poured down, soaking me to the bone and running off my skin in little icy droplets. Black clouds hovered in the sky like a bad smell, leaving the world cowering in the shadows, awaiting the sun. My hair clung around the back of my neck in curling wisps, and shivers wracked my body. All I could do was pull my hood even closer to my eyes, and hope that it would pass soon. I hate rain. Some part of me still expected to immediately malfunction and die whenever water hit me. Of course humans are waterproof, but my natural instincts from being made of electrical circuits and metal still lingered on the edge of my mind, like an appendix. Completely useless, yet still able to kick up a problem if it wished to.

After returning Chell to work, I obviously tried to find Rick. But he was nowhere to be found. Not at the park, or the nursery, not in my home or his own, not at the shop or the skate park. I began to worry slightly, because I had kind of gotten used to hanging around with him all the time. It was weird not having his ever sarcastic, cocky, adventurous opinion gabbling in my ear, and as much as his personality was hardly a winning one, I really did feel obliged to find him. God knows what sort of trouble Rick could manage to get in. Pretty big trouble I would imagine. Although I didn't predict the weather would turn for the worst not five minutes after I left, perhaps if I did I would have found incentive to delay the search process a little while. But of course it didn't work like that, I couldn't predict the future, so instead I trudged through countless puddles, crossed many abandoned roads with the odd car zipping past, wandering around and am most likely getting myself lost too. I didn't really know where to look. Just around the whole village seemed decent, if a little vague.

So, first item on the to-do list, find Rick. Second, moan at Rick for disappearing. Third, go home and sleep. The plan would be slightly enjoyable if I hurried up and achieved the first goal already. Hugging my jacket closer and wrapping my arms around each other for warmth, I suddenly felt a pang of guilt. Here I was moaning about the cold and wet, but assuming Rick hadn't changed outfits since I last saw him (I mean, why would he?) he would only be wearing short sleeves. No hood or umbrella. However, the guilt wasn't quite enough to encourage me to be kind and lend out my own coat to him, because if I took it off I think I would turn into snowman on the spot. And then I would melt because I don't think snow agrees with rain. Just like electricity doesn't like rain. Hell, who does like rain?! Apart from... Nope can't think of anyone. Rain is just cold, wet, dark, dull, and it stops you doing fun things unless they're inside.

Nearly tripping over due to being lost in a daydream about snowmen and rain, I realised what had caused me to stumble. A leg. A leg belonging to a familiar man sitting on a bench with his head in his hands. Rick. A relieved sigh crossed with a gush of worry filed out of my lips, causing his head to incline in my direction. Green eyes met my own, looking deflated and tired. Water dripped down his face and body, emphasising his cheek bones amongst sunken grey skin. In a nut shell, he looked terrible. In all fairness, I hardly wanted to ask what happened. To make Rick look like this it must have been bad. At any rate, I doubted he'd want to talk about it anyway, he hates looking scared or weak or otherwise 'unmanly'. Which is dumb, because men can be frightened too. I speak from experience. Although I suppose it is debatable whether I'm a man or some form of AI. Didn't really know myself.

"Let's go," I commanded emotionlessly, not wanting to upset my friend further. He just followed, like he was hypnotised. Creepy. Unfortunately, I wasn't particularly sure of where exactly we were, so it took a while for me to navigate us through the thick rain towards recognisable ground. Eventually I spotted the shops, then later our street. Don't think I've ever been so relieved to see the little thing standing strong on the roadside, quivering slightly in the strong wind. Rick parted ways with me and headed off to his own home in a state of zombified ambling. My mouth curved into a concerned grimace as I unlocked my door and stepped into the dry and warm, leaving damp footprints behind me as a sign of my treacherous journey. Vowing to clean later, I decided to put off moaning at Rick for a while and go straight to part three of my plan; have a warm shower, get changed and have a nap.

**Rick POV -** after a hot shower had thawed me from my unresponsive stupor, I sat thoughtfully on the edge of my bed, looking up at the ceiling as if it held all my answers. Surprisingly, it did not. Instead I had to come up with solutions alone. After an indefinite amount of undisturbed musing, I decided at the moment I had worked myself up too much, and pretending like nothing happened to Wheatley and Chell until a good moment reared its face for me to explain was probably the easiest and best solution. I mean, what would they think of me? Especially Wheatley, who came from Aperture with me. As always, that evil laboratory was the root of all my problems, and it felt wrong to bring it up with them whilst they were so desperately trying to be normal humans. Trying to forget memories of a little metal ball and a test subject. Trying to have a family without any input from an evil super computer or a bunch of deranged corrupted cores. I didn't blame them, I mean why live in the past? Unless you're me, in which case you just can't forget.

Chell POV - Everything was quiet when I unlocked the door. I nearly slipped over on some oversized muddy footprints, and rolled my eyes. Would it hurt to clean their own mess up? At least, I assumed Rick was also here. He practically lived in mine and Wheatley's house. Unless they were both out, which would explain the unusual silence that filled my ears. Pulling off my wet coat and hanging it on a hook to dry, I removed my shoes and went to investigate. To my shock and surprise, Wheatley was actually fast asleep on the bed, and Rick was nowhere to be seen. Wheatley was still wearing his clothes, and his hair was dripping, either from rain or a shower. Even with his knees curled to his chest, the overgrown man still took up most of the bed. He kept twitching and murmuring, obviously deep in a dream. As quietly as possible, I let him be, shutting the door softly behind me and going downstairs to make dinner - after tidying up the footprints in the hallway.

At some point, Rick knocked on the door, interrupting my being a clean freak. Not that that annoyed me. He seemed exceptionally smiley, but I dared not ask. My suspicions changed direction when I told him that Wheatley was asleep and he released the most forced laugh I have ever heard. Intuitively, I figured something was up. After years and years of being 'a mute' I easily knew all body language in the book and then some. Again, I didn't ask, because it wasn't really my place to. I wouldn't want people to ask me questions, so I don't bombard anyone else if I can help it. They'll tell me themselves if I deserve to know. Rick appeared grateful of this, and left with mutters of 'tell Wheatley that I'm alright now', and I agreed politely. So something was up. Is up. Guess I'll have to tell Wheatley Rick's message, even though I knew it must be a lie. Sometimes I can't help but think life was simpler as a test subject.

After that house call, Rick went back to normal, acting as if nothing had ever happened. Wheatley didn't notice at all, and after a while I also forgot. Life carried on in a pretty ordinary circle for us. I worked, came home, cleaned, made dinner then hung out with Wheatley until we went to bed. On weekends we took to going on dates or simply moping around the house being stupid. Either way, Autumn passed, and we were cast into a cold Winter. Nothing much happened quite a bit later, but when it changed it changed fast.

**Wheatley POV - **Thick sheets of hail hammered down on the windows, keeping anyone from emerging outside. Chell would be nearly finished with her shift, I hoped her umbrella is bullet proof because those little frozen raindrops hit like bloody ammunition. Sucking air through my partly ajar jaw, my eyes left the window and looked over to Rick instead. He was pacing up and down the room with an extremely bored expression. We hated being cooped up inside like this, it was no fun. We are way too active.

"Can we play indoor rugby or something? Or indoor cricket?" Rick suddenly piped up, eyes glowing like little emerald tinted torches.

"Nah, they're not so good for indoors, it's hard to control the ball in both of them. What about football?" My grin widened, acknowledging the fact that I adored the game with passion. Couldn't say I particularly enjoyed watching it though, because it just made me want to be out there kicking a ball around my self. I guess that's a good thing though, since Chell hates football on TV anyway.

Talking of Chell, she had really gotten a... What were they called?... a bump nowadays. That's a darn big kid. The bump actually got on my nerves, it was rock solid so I couldn't hug or kiss Chell from the front anymore. No, I've been hugging her from the back and side more than ever recently. Rick's hand waved slowly in front of my face, and I looked up at him questioningly.

"I said, yes, let's play indoor football," he repeated in a dragged out voice with long gaps between every single syllable. Shoving my vain thoughts on kissing aside, I decided to ignore Rick's lack of sensitivity to my low intelligence and relish the fact he was prepared to play with me despite the horrible weather defects. Running off swiftly then returning with a ball, we chose our goals. Mine was the open doorway leading to the hall, Rick's was between two chairs he had nabbed from the kitchen. Finally we could start.

About fifteen minutes into the game, the score was an even of two all. My competitive side boosted its aggression by about ten, and I tackled the ball off Rick with lightening-speed precision. However I came to a standstill when I heard the front door open.

"I'm home!" Chell announced, taking off her coat and shoes and putting down her umbrella. Since it wasn't covered in a million holes, I assumed it was hail resistant.

"Hi love," I called out to her, a grin pushing my cheeks upwards happily. "How was work?"

"Good, I have a doctors appointment tomorrow, can you come?"

I agreed solemnly, Chell being the only thing that can coax me into medical establishments like the doctors or the hospital. I felt Rick's ever curious eyes on my face, then they sank down to the abandoned football at my feet. With a lighthearted chuckle he whipped over to my side, and kicked the ball into his goal.

"No fair!" I cried, stomping my foot angrily like a little human.

"So fair! You took your eyes off the ball!"

"I was having a conversation with my girlfriend, it was practically like a halftime!" I yelled, waving a hand in Chell's direction. At the time, I didn't see her move softly into the shadow of the doorway.

"Fine, then I get to do this!" My foot rolled the ball towards me, my back facing Chell.

"Wheatley don't kick that you might break something or hurt-" Chell's voice rang through the air, then suddenly just stopped with a thwack.

Her warning was too late. I had already booted the ball with all my strength and then some, and it hurtled towards the doorway. With a sickening thump it rocketed into Chell, and she fell to the floor.

"The baby," Rick finished her sentence, glaring angrily at me.

**AN/... Oooh stuff just got serious! I promise after the dark bits of the story it will go happy again, so I hope you can all endure it for a few chapters haha. Sorry about the short chapter and the cliffhanger, please please please review your opinions on New Life so far! I'm losing faith in you guys =/, you've left me with a cyber silence! **


	11. Chapter 11

**AN/... Whooo reviews I feel loved again ^_^ you guys are all amazing! So, answering your many questions, no Chell and Wheatley won't break up, and well... The baby is kindaaa hurt... But you know something's going to go right at some point because I hate sad endings to a story! Apologies if this chapter makes you cry or something, dunno how sensitive you all are =) enjoy!**

**Chapter 11 - Gone**

**Chell POV -** Pain shot through me relentlessly, and I clutched my stomach tightly. I had never felt a pain like it, it was worse than when my leg got broken and Wheatley had no choice but to straighten it, worse than when GLaDOS tortured me, cut me and threw me across the room. All of these casualties hurt for no more than five seconds, then dulled down to a mellow stabbing sensation in comparison. Not this time though, now I was experiencing the same unbearable red-hot feeling over and over and over again with no signs of it ever weakening. I didn't even want to think about what might be happening to the... the baby.

Rick ran over to me first, surprisingly, dropping to his knees and wrapping his warm arms around me whilst I shook and whimpered. Wheatley took a step forwards, but his friend turned to face him with a growl.  
"You've caused enough trouble, don't you think?"  
The hostility in Rick's voice was so noticeable that it caused Wheatley to take a step back, and his face crumbled. Using more force than necessary, Rick hurled his car keys at Wheatley, causing an unnatural red welt to protrude from his arm, where the throw caught him off guard.  
"Go get my car. And if you so much as get dust on it, I will drown you."  
Wheatley yelped and scampered out the room, deeply afraid of any watery threat.

I wanted to reach out to him, tell him to ignore Rick, and let him hold me and hug me and comfort me. But I was in too much agony to have the ability to speak for myself, so Wheatley was forced out of the house by pure intimidation. All I could do was try not to cry out or sob from the pain. I had to try and be brave for the others, I mean they used to be balls of metal - what would they understand about this sort of accident? I didn't want to know myself if I'm honest, all I kept doing was telling my heart and mind that the baby was absolutely fine. And he was. He had to be. He had to be.

**Wheatley POV** - Oh God, was that all my fault? I didn't mean to! I didn't know Chell was standing there, and now she's in pain and Rick is so mad at me and I have no idea what's wrong apart from I think it might be to do with the baby! I ran my fingers through my hair nervously, whilst the car fumbled and grumbled beneath me.

When the bloody thing finally started, I tried my best to edge carefully into the road. I turned the wheel - a little too far - since the left mirror smacked into a lamppost. My gulp could have been heard from two streets away, and I was shaking like a tiny leaf caught in a hurricane. Thoughts of water ran through my brain, sparking the fear and apprehension like an electric circuit. Slowly, I allowed the accelerator to inch closer to the ground, and Rick's car rolled at snail's pace to the front of mine and Chell's home. I clambered out of the vehicle in a state of terror, trying not to look at the dented left-hand mirror. Oh God, he was going to kill me.

As soon as I took one step through into the hallway, I noticed Rick, who pushed me back outside again, leaving Chell huddled up on the sofa.  
"I'm taking her up the hospital in a minute," Rick told me in a tired monotone, not even bothering to glance at his car. Somehow I couldn't even bring myself to believe he had the energy to be mad at me anymore. For now at least.  
"Is she going to be alright?" I questioned in a hushed, concerned voice.  
"Well, in time. I think the... The foetus took a pretty hard hit."  
"The what? Call it a baby, Rick," I replied in a choked voice. Because I knew that perhaps he had a good reason to no longer address it as a human.  
"Well, it might not... Not be a baby anymore..."  
"What is it then, a cat?" I tried to turn the situation comical, but I couldn't even fool myself. A lump invaded my throat, and warm liquid began to form along the bottom lid of my eyes.  
"Well, a baby is a little human isn't it? A foetus is the developing unborn baby. But I think you kinda stemmed the growth... The growth of the... The... You know," he sighed, and turned to leave.  
"Wait, like it's..." my mind scrabbled desperately for the right word. "...Dead?"  
Rick shrugged, and left me alone in the icy wind. A deathly shadow ran its bony fingers along the ridges of my spine, and I shivered violently.

The baby can't be dead, I... I didn't mean to... No, no Rick was just joking, or being pessimistic. Of course the little human is still hanging on in there. Perhaps a little injured, the doctors will fix that up, and the kid will be right as rain again. Right as rain... Rain isn't even right - that's a stupid phrase. Right as... I dunno sun. Right as sun. I mean, I got stabbed in the chest before - right by my heart and my lungs and whatever other vital organs lay nearby - and as much as I hated to admit it, the hospital cleared my wounds up pretty well. Chell's too. My hand moved to my chest of its own accord, I could feel the slightly raised, jagged dot where the claw impaled me, the scar that would remain forvever.

Sirens whizzed past somewhere in the far distance, forcing me to heed a feeling of foreboding doom, which was odd because they weren't for me. However they did get me thinking, which rarely ends well. What if I did... Kill him or her... Would I be a murderer? The emergency services; they would have to arrest me or something. Chell will never forgive me at any rate. I should never have been made into a bloody human. It's not right, I don't even make a decent one. Used to call humans smelly... Maybe that was partly correct on behalf of my damned human persona. The stress built up, higher and higher, engulfing me in a thick fog, disabling my vision and choking my shallow breathing. I raised my head, hoping for more air, glancing mournfully at the grey clouds floating away in the light breeze. The hail had deceased, only a chilly breeze remained, hovering unsurely in the atmosphere. A flock of birds flew overhead, their whole family just completely uprooting themselves and moving away. Usually I would be frightened of the horrible creatures, but I couldn't bring myself to be afraid this time. At the moment they were the least of my worries. In fact, the little things actually gave me an idea. Tears welled up in my eyes, a lump jutted painfully in my throat, and I looked away from the suddenly unwelcoming house. I had never felt more like an outsider in my life, never felt so alone and unloved and _hated_.

**Rick POV -** Helping Chell to her unusually wobbly feet, I hoped she would be okay. Of course I also knew I was kidding myself, I had never seen a face so ashen, so sunken in before... Except maybe once... I shook my head angrily. No, the past needs to learn how to stay the hell out of my head! It didn't seem so much of a crime to borrow the house keys off the shelf and lock up for Chell, so I did just that. House locked and secure, I turned around, half expecting to see Wheatley desperately reasoning with a now crying Chell. But, funnily enough, he was absolutely nowhere in sight. Then my intelligent brain pieced everything together, and the result disgusted me. The stupid moron must have run away.

Forget babbling idiot, Wheatley is the biggest wuss I have ever been unfortunate enough to meet. Ugh, why am I even _friends_ with him? Why is _anyone_? He's a total _wanker_. Perhaps lobbing him into space wasn't a good enough punishment after all. I should have killed that big-headed scrap of metal when I had the chance. Now he's reduced to breaking a girl with pure clumsiness and idiocy, then smashing her heart by running away and leaving her to sweep up the broken pieces. Not once did I ever use to think even Wheatley could be that low.

Anger rolled off me in thick red waves, smoke practically pouring out of my ears. Fists clenched tightly, my fingernails made little dents along the edge of my pale palms. The green of my irises sharpened, eyelids narrowing around them threateningly. I can't believe he did that. Just ran away. It didn't solve anything, it made things worse. Humans must have some sort of sixth sense (_yes, they have so many! As a core all my senses were simulated, and I still only had three!_) that allows them to detect the mood of others, because Chell eyed me warily and avoided the front passenger seat of my car. Yet still I was agitated by everything, making snarky, sarcastic comments against anything that 'got in my way', which was very easy to do due to my fury. I knew I had a wild uncontrollable temper, but this was bad for me. Deep down I knew my nasty experiences from the past were heavily to blame. One in particular, which, oddly enough, didn't relate at all to Aperture. But still it haunts me.

"Rick!" Chell's voice reached me, shocking me out of my daydream. "Are you still mad at Wheatley?"  
"Mmm," I nodded vigorously, desperate to prove my point by clutching the steering wheel even harder, so much so it groaned in a strained reply. Somehow she had managed to forgive him, and suspected he was simply afraid of the hospital. She assumed he would be home in a few hours, apologise, and everything could go back to normal. That wasn't going to happen, I mean she's still whimpering in pain clutching her bump on my back seat, Wheatley is God knows where feeling sorry for himself, and the baby, well it's depressing that you can't give a foetus a grave. Yes, I had no proof as of yet that Wheatley actually caused a miscarriage, but the signs weren't in his favour. All I knew was that it was going to be rocky afternoon. And evening. And night. And week. Possibly also month.

Parking agilely in one of the public hospital's small gravel car spaces, I gently aided Chell as she stood up, and together we hobbled through the automatic glass doors, the generic pale walls seeming to swallow us whole into the heart and stomach of the hospital. Injured people, visiting people, old people, young people, they all ran around the place, either on errands or crying or trying to walk - whatever. Can't say I particularly cared. It's not like I knew them. Okay, that's harsh, I'm mean, I'll own it. Right then all I cared about was making sure Chell was going to be alright. I felt heavily inclined and dutiful to do so. So far I wasn't doing a very good job, her skin held a worrying ghostly-pale, clammy pallor and she kept trying to hold back sniffs and groans in vain.

Leaning over the reception counter as far as possible, I whispered frustratedly to the receptionist, hoping Chell was out of earshot.  
"I think she's having a miscarriage! She needs a doctor now!"  
"Of course sir, but please step back," she replied, looking slightly scared. I noticed how close I was to her, our noses almost touching, and I pulled away quickly. Of course I was close, I didn't want Chell to hear and get worse. Basic psychology much, this woman was obviously an idiot. Although she did do her job, and began using her desk phone to call across to some sort of ward that must have housed available doctors, because several minutes later one came jogging out of a room. He had short mousey brown hair that constantly flopped across his hazel eyes, glasses that seemed to be covered in oil (they kept sliding down his snub nose) and an irritating smile on his face. We had to be fobbed off with one of the optimists, didn't we?

"Do you want your... Boyfriend?... To come with you miss?" He asked in a soft tone, as he turned to lead Chell away to some ward. I raised my eyebrow in a proud arc, and snorted.  
"She's not my girlfriend. Her boyfriend is-"  
"Away with work," Chell cut me off, stopping the abuse that was about to pour from my mouth. I could hardly say anything now, so I simply nodded.  
"I can go by myself," she said haughtily, dignity intact even now. Can never put that past Chell. Hugging her quickly, I retreated, allowing the doctor to help a struggling-to-keep-from-crying Chell to a ward somewhere, and plonked myself down in the waiting room. The sofa was orange, the floor shiny wood, the walls still white. They had at least tried to brighten the place up a little since I last came here.

My eyes wandered for a while, then I curled my knees to my chest and rested my chin on top, closing my eyes. Not sleeping, not at all, just blocking out all of the beeping and yelling and crying and giggling and God knows what else out of my poor head. It wasn't comforting to know that every cry, every beep, every yell probably signalled the end of someone's life, maybe even a child's, someone who had barely begun to live. No, I preferred to shut it all out and stay locked up in my perfect world, a world of adventures and not much else. Wheatley was definitely not welcome. It would be strictly a half-decent people only zone. Unfortunately day-dreaming could only keep the horrors of life out for a while, and I heard someone coughing in front of me, trying to get my attention. It was that doctor again. Scrap my thoughts on his optimistic appearance, his grin had morphed into a grim line and frown lines persisted on carving themselves upon his forehead. _Was that a spot of blood on his previously pristine white coat?_

"I'm sorry sir, but your friend has lost her baby."

**AN/... Not a happy ending to this chapter guys =/. However, the story in general does have a happy ending, so wait a few more chapters for the happy stuff to return! This is just the tragic middle of New Life.. ;P please review =) I'll update ASAP. Next chapter: bit more** **about Rick ;) =D**


	12. Chapter 12

**AN/... Thanks for all the reviews guys =D, I know some of you hated last chapter whilst others said it was still good, so apologies. Any chance of getting to 100 reviews (at least) before the end of the story? We're at 70-something right now... I think =P. Anyway, I digress. I hope you enjoy! This is a Rick chapter mostly! And for those who are upset/angry I killed the baby, can I just say *SPOILER ALERT* There will be extremely cute chapters soonish, that involve... A baby! So shush your baying for revenge guys! ;) good stuff's gonna happen!**

**Chapter 12 - Aperture Laboratories**

**Wheatley POV -** I was cold. I didn't have anything on me but my clothes. It was getting dark. But at least now I could think alone. I sat on familiar grass, in complete silence, free from the hustle-bustle of roads and houses and streets. Just me, and the special field. I say alone, well I feel as though little ghosts of me and Chell were still here, sitting under the apple tree, kissing in the rain, you name it. Talk about haunting memories. I desperately wanted to cut all the ties for a while, and retreat into a world where I haven't done anything wrong. Because in reality, I had completely messed everything up. In one day I had made Chell cry, managed to turn a best friend into an enemy, hurt my own child, and to top it all off, I decided to run away from my problems, which wasn't going to solve anything. Trust me to ruin everything all at once.

Still some part of me remained that would not accept the fact that Rick had no reason to lie earlier, and that the baby belonging to me and Chell was most likely dead. The other half however, was bitterly cynical, and constantly reminded me of how absolutely everything was my fault. Of course it wasn't wrong. Everything was my fault, I mean, who kicked the ball? Me. Who ran away? Me. There was no denying it.

The wind nudged my face persistently, flicking my hair over my ears and into my eyes. Any loose material of my trousers or shirt flapped violently in the harsh gusts, allowing brisk icy air to freeze every inch of my body. It wasn't even nightfall yet and already the weather had turned bitter. I had never felt more like an outsider, never felt more hated, than now. Heck, I even hated myself right now, so God knows how much more everyone else despised me. Hesitantly, I huddled up, knees against chest, preparing myself for a very long, difficult future.

**Rick POV** - the doctor stood before me for a few long minutes, obviously expecting me to say something. I couldn't stop my eyes from turning into slits, and directing their angry glare upon him. With an awkward smile and a nervous giggle, he left. I grunted.

Soon after that, my eyes closed again, not feeling obliged to go visit Chell. It would feel like an invasion of privacy to do so, I wasn't a family member or boyfriend, so I doubted I had the right to waltz in there directly after she just lost a child. Although, she was alone... No. I can't go. Wheatley should be here. Stupid idiot moron. Okay, so maybe I was being unreasonable to him, because as his friend I know very well he always tries to be helpful to those around him, but to be honest, I don't have the understanding personality that most people do. So instead, I dwelled on everything he has done wrong. Well, where to start?

Nope, too many things sprung to mind, and it was enraging me more. I'll just focus on today. Well, he didn't listen to me or to Chell, therefore resulting in booting a ball as hard as humanly possible into Chell's pregnant stomach. And then, well I am ninety percent sure he was the cause of the scratch on one of my car mirrors. The penalty for that was supposed to be drowning, but I didn't want anyones blood on my hands. Unlike Wheatley, who was a cold murderer. How comes people don't get arrested for killing unborn babies anyway, seems a bit odd. It's still a murder isn't it? Manslaughter? Hmm, I really didn't know. But my point still stands. It was all Wheatley's fault. I think the thing that made me most angry though, was the fact that Wheatley just ran away. Ran away from everything, leaving Chell to clean up his mess. I expect that inconsiderate prick is simply hanging around doing nothing, absolutely zilch, just brooding over today's events and feeling sorry for himself instead of scooping up the remainders of his pride and dignity and coming to help his girlfriend. He could hold a little more respect for her.

Crying suddenly filled the waiting room, and I glanced up curiously. Some kid had broken his arm by the looks of things, it was sticking up at a weird angle. He was forced to wait for a doctor though, which seemed slightly inhumane. Head down, I went back to doing nothing. Well, I was doing something, I was waiting for Chell. However, I had no idea how long she would be, so closing my eyes and blocking out the world really did seem like my best bet.

An indefinite amount of time later, the annoying doctor reappeared, smiling his little head off. I didn't see anything worth grinning about.

"You're friend... Chell... Is going to be fine, she can go home. Did you bring her here?"

"Yeah. I did."

"Okay, come with me, I left her in the ward," he gestured for me to follow, and I sighed, heaving myself to steady feet. I hadn't noticed how short the doctor was till I stood up, his bouncy hair only came up to my shoulder. Chuckling under my breath, I followed quietly, unsure how exactly to greet Chell. I could hardly say 'hi' or 'whassup?', could I? Staying silent seemed like the best bet. At any rate, I didn't have enough time for further delay, and found myself standing in front of Chell. She was kneeling forlornly on the bed, staring at a fixed point on the floor. Her head barely inclined when I patted her arm.

"Come on, let's get you home. Did you bring a coat with you?" I asked softly, helping Chell onto her feet. She shook her head in answer to my question, so I shrugged my own grey jacket off. It had a lining of stubbly white fur, even in the hood.

"You can borrow mine, it'll be cold out. Sorry it reeks of aftershave, I spilt it all down me this morning."

Chell laughed a tiny, monosyllabic giggle. "Thanks. Trust you."

"Hey! It wasn't my fault, I think someone rigged the insides with gunpowder, it exploded everywhere!" I complained whole-heartedly, happy I could cheer Chell up slightly, even though I knew it was all an act. However brave she appears, I knew that deep down she's hurting like hell.

My coat looked funny on Chell, the arms covered her hands and you could easily fit another person in there (if they were really small of course). Still, at least she looked warm as I ushered her into my car, and jogged round to the other side. The engine grumbled groggily, but I managed to get it rolling slowly out of the parking lot and onto the road home.

Automatically, my hand flicked out and turned on the radio. It was playing some old song, and I vaguely recognised it from somewhere. Eh, it's probably always on the radio stations or something. I hoped Chell didn't mind the radio being on, it was impossible to know what to do after everything that happened today. I hummed quietly, fingers tapping the steering wheel impatiently as we caught a red traffic light. A cup of coffee would taste good right now. It was freezing, even with the heating turned right up. I looked at the temperature gauge in my car; it was minus four degrees outside. Even the trees were shivering, completely bare with no leaves. The sun was getting quite low in the sky, surely it couldn't be early evening already? The day had gone by in a blur, yet every moment seemed painfully slow at the same time. Weird.

"Do you like coffee?" I asked Chell absentmindedly, smiling at her kindly. She shook her head.

"Oh. Tea?"

"Yeah, tea's good."

"I'll make you one when we get home," I muttered softly, looking out of the windows impatiently.

"Do you want me to stay for the night, incase you need something?"

"Wheatley will be back, won't he?" Chell asked anxiously. "He won't stay away for the night will he?"

"Nonono, of course not!" I cried, but my reply was too fast and I don't think Chell fell for it.

"You think he won't be there, don't you?" She scrutinised my face for any signs of weakening.

"Well... I don't know... Let's just wait and see, mmh?

"Okay," she agreed in a mousy whisper, looking up at the dimming sky towards the faint outline of the moon that waited for nightfall above. I wondered if she was doing that thing where you look at the moon, and know that however far apart you are, your loved one could be looking at the exact same thing. Sappy old Wheatley probably would be looking at the moon, although it was still very pale and subdued in the blue-grey sky.

"What do you want for dinner?" I sighed, utterly ravenous. Only about five minutes till we reached our road.

"Not hungry."

"I am. Eat with me so I'm not lonely?" I batted my eyelashes in mock cuteness, eyes big and shiny.

"Okay, fine," she said, muffling a giggle at my pulling silly 'cute' faces. A grin lighted my face, I was genuinely pleased. Even more so after the next corner, because we turned onto our street at last. I parked on Chell's little concrete drive instead of my own, and clambered out of the car as fast as I could.

"Damn! I forgot my keys!" Chell suddenly exclaimed patting all her pockets. Fishing in my jean pocket, I revealed a bunch of shiny keys, easily identified as Chell's.

"I remembered," I smirked, unlocking the door and holding it open for her. As soon as she crossed the threshold, she searched downstairs for Wheatley, then called his name loudly several times up the steps.

"I don't think... I don't think he's home..." I muttered gently, patting her arm reassuringly. Chell nodded weakly, and headed out of the room with mutters of getting changed. I didn't know what to do. Part of me hated Wheatley and didn't want him to return, the other half was more reasonable and saw how much Chell needed him. What could I say, I mean if Chell wants him... I guess tomorrow it wouldn't kill me to go searching. Although I would have a bone to pick with Wheatley before allowing him to even think about returning - that is if I could find him. Well, that's tomorrow's problem, not today's. Today was time to raid the kitchen and try and make a decent meal.

I wasn't a very extensive chef, but unlike Wheatley I had the ability and know-how to cook simple meals. Chell claimed she wasn't exactly hungry, so I expected that a fish finger sandwich would suffice. Mmm, my favourite type of sandwich. Chucking the frozen fingers in the oven, I began spreading the bread and filling the kettle for tea and coffee. I wondered if they had a big tray so I could carry everything upstairs, I think Chell planned on staying locked up in her bedroom for the night. Ah, there was one on top of the cupboard! Now all I had to do was wait patiently for the fish to cook and chuck it inside the sandwiches. Simple.

I say simple. I ended up with floppy, slightly soggy sandwiches. Although I'm pretty sure they'll still taste good. Hopefully. Piling the dodgy food plus tea and coffee onto a tray, I slowly began the treacherous journey all the way up the stairs, along the hallway, and into Chell's room. Honestly, I didn't have the etiquette to knock first, and barged straight in. Of course when you charge in without knocking, you always catch something you didn't want to see. In my case, the brave Chell I knew so well was crying, curled up as small as possible on her giant bed made for two. But Wheatley wasn't there to fill in the extra space.

"I... Err..." I stuttered, feeling like an intruder. She didn't even look up, so I dumped our dinner on a little wooden bedside table, and sat beside her awkwardly.

"What's wrong? Wait, dumb question. Baby right?" I questioned, not doing very well on the sensitive pathway at the moment.

"Yeah... But... But... But I miss him too!"

No prizes for guessing who 'him' is. I sighed, trying to keep all my biased, rude and offensive thoughts on 'him' bottled firmly away.

"It's okay," I whispered, putting my arm around her shoulders gently. "I give him till tomorrow, tops, then he'll be standing on the doorstop. Unless he has keys, in which case standing on the doorstep would be completely pointless."

"What if he's not?"

"Then... Then I'll go search for him," I said, really putting my foot in it.

"You will?" Chell's grey eyes sparkled, and I could hardly turn her away now. She needed as much help as possible. So, with regrets as tall as the Empire State Building, I nodded.

"What if something's happened to him?" she suddenly cried, beginning to worry all over again.

"I know he's not exactly the brightest light in the box, but believe me, Wheatley has it in him to avoid huge dangers. I can promise you he is fine."

Chell leant into me a little closer, and I hugged her tightly.

"Ugh, I feel like my head's going to explode," she groaned, rubbing it anxiously. I grinned, old memories glowing in the light of her comment, and I couldn't resist.

"Happy explosion day, gorgeous," I laughed, trying to make the situation light-hearted. My mission didn't fail completely, I got a quiet giggle in reply, and smiled proudly.

"Do you know how hard it was not to throw you in the incinerator?" She smirked, sitting up a little taller, although tear trains still marked her smooth cheeks. The oddest mixture of happiness and pain filled her eyes, showing how strong she is, how easily she can swallow the tears and smile.

"Awh c'mon, I wasn't that bad!" I moaned whilst holding an innocent smile.

"How can a core even be flirty, like a normal young adult?" She asked, painstakingly confused. I looked down, knowing the answer but not wanting to tell. Instead I simply shrugged.

"Only you, right?" She smiled, letting it go.

"Yup, I'm one in a million."

"So one person out of a million is a complete idiot?"

"Oh haha. I made you dinner, and even though it's soggy and mushy, I'm still a sweetheart, huh?"

"Yeah. Thanks. You're a good friend."

"Wait, I need to get my video camera, Chell is showing affection towards me!" I joked, shaking the bed with my laughter.

"Better make the most of it then," she grinned, turning to look out of the window. Gently, Chell leant over to grab one of my sandwiches and took a bite.

"Yuck, is this fish directly from the sea? It's all... Soggy," Chell complained waving it around grimacing, however a sparkle glowed in her eyes. I knew she was just kidding, and nodded.

"Yep, I think that one still has its brain in there."

"Lovely..." She put it back casually, trying not to show the very thought made her queasy.

"Do you want me to stay for the night - downstairs I mean - in case you need anything?"

"No, it's fine, I can cope. You won't be comfortable," she explained kindly, giving me a hug anyway. "But thank you. For the offer I mean."

"No problem."

The conversation abruptly ended there, both of us deciding companionable silence was the best option. No need to express emotions, but still being there for the other person. My daydreams were filled with worldwide adventures and bungee jumping and paragliding and surfing giant waves. Somehow, I expected Chell's thoughts held a more sinister front.

One issue with getting lost in a daydream is you have no idea how long you've been doing it for when you 'wake up'. Due to my strong imagination, it can vary from a few minutes to a couple of full blown hours. At any rate, Chell had at some point fallen asleep, still fully dressed. Quietly, I rolled l to my feet, and turned the overhead light off as I exited her room quietly. Descending sleepily to the front room, I set up post on the sofa. Chell may say she's fine, but I'm not taking risks. Anyway, as much as I hate this fact, Wheatley could return at any point, and for Chell's sake someone would have to let the moron inside. Piling up the cushions and wriggling under the blanket that lay on them, I couldn't help but fall asleep whilst on guard duty.

A scream woke me up, and I grabbed a baseball bat that had rolled underneath the sofa suspiciously. Several seconds after I believed it to be a figment of my imagination, the scream rang again, and this time I pinpointed the owner, because I vaguely recalled from a certain visit to a theme park exactly what Chell's scream sounded like.

"Great." I muttered frustratedly, rolling onto the floor and wiggling my toes to regain strength in them. As quietly as possible, I swiftly crept to the bottom of the steps, and, carefully avoiding squeaky floorboards, strode anxiously up them. The bat felt heavy and powerful in my grasp, and I bounced it up and down worriedly as I listened outside Chell's door. I couldn't hear much, no voices as some murderer or burglar or worse clambered through her window like I imagined. But Chell would never scream for no reason. So I softly nudged the door open, and peered through. I couldn't believe what an idiot I had been, the answer had been obvious from the start. Chell was having a nightmare. I often find Aperture Laboratories to strike the most horrible, scary dreams ever, although I don't get them frequently. Wheatley used to imply that Chell didn't have nightmares when he was sleeping next to her, and I used to laugh and mock him, saying that was just his wish. It would seem I had misjudged him on that part. Chell was writhing around, duvet tangled about her in tight restraints, and a couple of sweat beads formed on her temples.

"Chell?" I whispered. No answer. "Chell?" I tried again, a little louder. No answer. Dumping the bat at the foot of her bed, I plonked myself down next to her, and grabbed her hand. She wasn't waking up, so I'd just have to see her through. She calmed slightly after that, but I was pretty sure she was still trapped in her nightmare. Eventually though, when early morning came, and I had been sitting there for hours, her eyes opened, and she took in her surroundings quickly, sighing when she realised she was home, and always had been. My hand slipped from hers, undetected, and I folded them absentmindedly.

"Did you wait with me the whole time?" She asked, eyes suddenly bright. I nodded, smiling half-heartedly.

"In my dream, I felt someone's presence, and it helped a little. Thank you. Have you been sitting here since I fell asleep?"

"No, not at all, I was asleep on the sofa. Your scream woke me up, so I ran up to investigate, wooden bat in hand, ready to thwart the burglar or murderer that was trying to get you. But when I entered your room, nothing was out of place, apart from you, because you were having a terrible bad dream. So I tried to wake you up, and couldn't. Instead I sat with you. And sorry but I'm knackered, I'm going to go sleep again," I explained, climbing up to leave.

"Rick?"

"Yeah?"

"Goodnight," she smiled, sinking down underneath the covers.

"Night," I whispered, leaving the room and shutting the door behind me with a soft thud.

Memories after that were foggy. All I remember is how I woke up late that morning, drowsy and curled up on the sofa amidst cushions and a blanket. No sounds other than my slow breathing could be heard, so I assumed Chell was still asleep. I know she never sleeps in late, and I knew she would probably need breakfast when she woke up, so I cautiously made her some toast. Of course I was triumphant when the toast appeared unburnt, and neatly buttered by me. After that, I quickly made a cup of tea, and wandered upstairs. Again I did not knock, and found Chell still sleeping. However, she stirred, probably woken by my loud entrance.

"Morning, I brought you breakfast," I smiled, placing it on the foot of her bed precariously.

"Not hungry," Chell sighed, rolling over.

"You ought to eat, your body's nutrients will be all over the place since there's suddenly one less mouth to feed inside you," I muttered truthfully, sitting next to her. It worked, with a bemused smirk at me, she leant forwards, grabbed a slice of toast, and took a bite.

"How d'ya know so much about miscarriage anyway Rick? It's not like a core would have much use for that information, I expect the scientists left it out completely."

"Every core has a science file," I muttered, lying through my teeth.

"Wheatley didn't know, he had a science file," she retorted, folding her arms and scrutinising my expression.

"Okay, fine you got me. I googled it."

"You can't google an answer to a word you've never heard of," she said, and I winced because she had caught me out. I shrugged, turning to leave.

"I gotta go-" I started, but Chell grabbed my arm.

"No. Tell me the truth. It's not good to bottle stuff like that up, it's obviously upsetting you. I won't utter a word to anyone, I promise," she claimed, getting my attention.

"It's a long story," I hissed, turning away again.

"I'm game. We've got nothing better to do," she shrugged indifferently.

"Fine, whatever! You found me in the corrupted core bin for a reason, every core in there went wrong somehow. Fact couldn't speak completely accurately, Space, well they dropped him by accident and a plate shifted, now all he knows is space. And me, well I was the worst of them all, the biggest disgrace the scientists had ever come up with. A mistake. Because I recalled something no core had ever recalled before. I remembered... I remembered being a human."

"What?" Chell squeaked.

"I remember everything, it's horrible," I muttered, holding back tears.

"Are all cores... Did they all use to be..."

"No. Only a few cores were transferred from humans. Most were made from scratch."

"Wheatley?" She asked vaguely, and I understood what she wanted to know.

"He was built from scratch, no human could ever be that moronic," I smiled slightly, despite falling apart inside.

"What happened then? Tell me everything," Chell demanded, looking worried. She wrapped her arm around me, being a good friend, a good listener. I needed this, I needed to be able to tell someone. So I did.

"My name was Rick Holten. My eyes were the exact colour they are now, bright emerald green, the greenest of any boy in our town. As far as I remember, everyone was jealous of them, although that may have been my pumped up attitude. My hair wasn't brown like it is now, it was pure black. It used to stick up like hell in the mornings, I had to wet it a million times to get it into a halfway decent style. When it grew too long - and it frequently did - my fringe would flop over one eye - not very cool. Even so, I was ever so popular, and the most daring, adventurous kid on the block. All the boys wanted to be my mate, all the girls wanted to be my lover, I actually got a little fed up. Especially when my dad got me a leather jacket for my sixteenth birthday, they were just the height of fashion, I'll tell ya. Boom, the tiny midget boy with floppy curly hair suddenly became a sex god, with pitch-black fluffed up hair, cat-green eyes and a leather jacket.

Soon I grew a head the size of Jupiter, whizzing around in this little orbit that sung only my name. I hardly had a winning personality, put it that way. Then, when I was seventeen, my mum and dad died in a car crash. I was heartbroken, I shrank back into little mousy Rick with the floppy hair and no fashion sense. I swapped the leather jacket for my dad's old jumpers, warm and comforting. Of course, the reputation sank further when I ran away from my stupid horrible uncle's house and rolled up in a care home. I ended up worse than I started, with absolutely nobody. Being alone all the time, I began to pine for company, and pretty soon I met a girl I liked. And, surprisingly enough, she liked the unpopular Rick who was desperately in need of a hair cut. We became an item, like a modern-day Romeo and Juliet. The same day I hit eighteen, I moved out, using some of the money my parents left me for a flat. Sharon - that was my girlfriend - was only a year younger than me, so pretty soon she joined me. We reckoned our whole future was planned out, together forever and all that. Unfortunately, it all went downhill from there.

I got Sharon pregnant when she was still eighteen, but her body obviously wasn't ready, because she had the most uncalled for, most violent of miscarriages ever, which is how I know of them so well. But that wasn't going to slow us down, not at all. A year later, the same again happened, minus the miscarriage. Although, the bad luck continued, and I never got as far as to witness my own child's birth. See, I worked at a local electronics store, and as one of the youngest, I got fobbed off with the delivery nobody wanted. The delivery of a whole bunch of computers, headed straight for a place called Aperture Laboratories. Nobody had been there for years, and most people who went in there never actually returned. It used to be a respectable science facility though, so no one ever investigated. Of course I came long after the time it was respectable, and had never heard anything of this so called laboratory. I had no idea what I was agreeing to when I filled the delivery van and set off that day.

The arrival caught me short, the building was tiny, derelict and abandoned. I assumed someone had given me the wrong directions as a joke, so went in to check, leaving the van behind me. The door handle was old, rusted, yet when I finally got the bloody door open, a crystal white, sterile elevator shaft stood before me. What could I do? If I could go back in time and not take that final step, I would have. But I can't. My squeaky trainers stepped anxiously into the lift, curiosity taking priority over my errands. When the door shut, it wasn't until a little while later I realised that was the last time I would stand in daylight as Rick Holten.

Men in white lab coats scrambled around, holding clipboards and yapping on about something called GLaDOS. Meant nothing to me. I asked where to go if I had a delivery, and the jumpy old man gave me strict instructions; a left, a left, then a right at the end of the corridor. My memory wasn't all that, and I ended up taking a left, a left, and another left. Facing a 'staff only' marked door again meant nothing to me, I sincerely believed I was going the right way. As always, I didn't knock, just barged straight in. And as always, I saw something I didn't want to see.

A huge wall of glass lay in front of me, gazing upon a large room of white tiles. A frightened man stood at one end, wielding an odd glowing gun and eying up the door on the opposite side. Some green gunk in a ditch separated him from it, and he shot a bullet at the tiled floor underneath his little platform. Faster than the speed of sound, the bullet expanded into a blue shimmering vortex. Confusion filled my gaze. What was this place? Zap, the man shot another bullet at the wall behind him, and this time a glowing orange-rimmed thing appeared. I could see through it, a view of yet more tiles, although these ones looked like they belonged to the ceiling. A frown formed on my expression, quickly turning to horror as the stranger jumped, fell, plummeted towards a blue death. But he didn't die that way. It all went too fast, one second he was falling, the next he shot through the orange hole, zooming towards the exit. I smiled for this brave man, judging that he would land safely at the exit any second now.

The next thing I saw was traumatising, absolutely horrifying. With a crack of ribs snapping like twigs, he smacked into the cold edge of the ditch, not quite clearing the gap. He... He lurched forwards, yelling, but couldn't find any handhold to grip apart from slippery tiles. Slowly, the man slid into the goo, and at the exact same moment I noticed it was some type of acid. His skin burned away, revealing muscle, his muscle burned away, revealing bone, and he was dead. I couldn't look away, couldn't move, it was like I was encased in ice. I barely flinched when a group of scientists burst through the door behind me, acknowledging what I had just seen.

'You can't be in here!" One of them yelled.

'He must die!' Another chipped in. But another looked thoughtful.

'He'll be good for testing.'

I looked down, down at the sinking skeleton of the man I watched die, at the gun that floated hauntingly on the brown-green ripples, at the sign marking clearly that I had just witnessed test chamber two hundred and seven. They wanted me to die like that, testing for some sick idea of science. The ice cracked.

'No! Please don't! I'd rather you killed me right now than do that!' I motioned through the glass.

'Not that type of test,' the man chuckled. 'You look like the sort of person with a winning personality. Let's chat elsewhere, it's awfully poky in here.'

Again, I made a stupid decision. I followed, turning my back on the others, ignoring the wink the man ushering me gave them. Next thing I knew, something cold and metal smacked me around the head, and I fell to the floor unconscious.

I awoke as a ghost, or so I initially thought, because I could clearly see my own dead body on the floor beneath me. My black hair had diminished in it's usual liveliness, my eyes were closed, and bloodstained bandages covered both my wrists and my neck. I couldn't cope, I was so scared. Then my vision turned upwards, to the glass panel on the wall at my own level. A metal ball with an electronic black and green eye blinked back, following my every move. Because the ball was me. Cue my mortified scream.

Can't say I was shocked when two men in white lab coats came running in. One wore glasses and had barely any hair, the other was young, with cropped red-brown curls. They sighed simultaneously as soon as they comprehended it was only me.

'It worked. Our first human to core experiment,' smiled the young one, picking me up by the odd black handles that hinged themselves to my... Body? Head? I didn't like being held, and I wriggled them angrily. He dropped me back onto the table in shock.

'I didn't programme it to do that...' The young one muttered, taking a step back like I was a rabid dog.

'Seems an awfully human thing to do, did you wipe it's memory?' Squawked the older one.

'I... Well... I... Umm...'

'Ugh you idiot!' The balding scientist turned to me. 'Whats your name?'

'Im an adventure core...' I started, and the young one perked up, admiring his handiwork. Until I finished my sentence. 'But call me Rick.'

'Great! Put him with the other corrupted cores, all of them yours, I notice!' He growled, and stormed out of the room.

'Sorry...' The young one whispered to me. 'It's all my fault.' And he opened a chute, allowing me to roll down it. I landed on a moving pile of cores, all of them yelling, talking, moving as well as they could with the lack of limbs. It was horrible, all alone down there. Over time, most of them stopped working completely, and to be honest, I wished the same would happen to me, because I ended up with the world's most annoying cores ever: Fact and Space.

Slowly, following the mourning of my girlfriend, my family, my unborn child, I crept back into the big-headed, flirty, horrible person I used to be, and desperately tried to forget anything related to my human life. I thought I had achieved that, until the other day, because I saw Sharon by the park, walking with a boy - most likely my own son. She was a lot older, granted, I must have been down there for at least ten years, if not twenty. But it was definitely her. And she'll have to carry on thinking I abandoned her and our baby, because not only do I look different, no human can ever know Aperture is still going. It's not that I still love her, because I can't, not after all that's happened, but I'm going to have to go through the whole forgetting process again. I mean, when I was turned human, I truly believed I could have a completely new start, no ties to the past, and be a new person. Seeing them was just like a kick between the legs, a punch in the gut."

My hands twitched, and I shot back into present. Chell was still beside me, arm tucked around my shoulders, and she patted it comfortingly.

"I'm sorry, I know that doesn't change anything, but I am. And I understand about starting fresh, I don't want to be labelled test subject my whole life. As for forgetting, it's a lot harder as a human to forget. But you can push it to the back of your mind, so unwanted memories rarely return into your life."

"You're right," I sighed, leaning backwards. "I don't need to forget, I need to let go."

**AN/... Okay, that was the last sad chapter of the whole entire story, I promise! Next chapter has a bit of action and a LOT of cuteness ;) that's right, Wheatley will be back! Please please review guys, and also, if the maths side of Rick's story doesn't work, please don't tell me so, just accept the storyline haha =) I'll update ASAP!**


	13. Chapter 13

**AN/... I'm ill in bed so thought I'd crack down and write this for you New Life fans out there ;). I hope you enjoy!**

**Chapter 13 - Wasted Words**

**Chell POV - **A few hours had passed since Rick told me his story. In that time, I had let him be, and gone for a shower. The warm water smoothed out every tense muscle in my body, relaxing me completely, till even Wheatley was off my mind temporarily. I decided there wasn't much point in rushing, Rick needed time alone, and if I wasn't distracted I would pine for Wheatley. So, I shaved my legs, and brushed my teeth slowly, counting each one for no other reason than pure distraction. After drying myself, I brushed out my long hair, noticing how much darker it looked when wet, and pulled on navy skinny jeans accompanied by a black t-shirt. It took me a while to dig through everything in the cupboard under the sink, but eventually I emerged with the hair dryer, plugged it in, and spent ages styling my hair as it dried. After a few minutes, I deemed myself insane, because over the loud dryer, I thought I could hear shouting downstairs, which was crazy. Although... No. I needed to stop thinking about Wheatley! He'll return when he's ready, I needed to give him time. Still... I wasn't very patient, and my heart ached copiously.

**Rick POV - **I started seeing my life in a new light, as I pranced around downstairs bare-footed, scooting around on the wooden floors and all in all acting like a kid. I can't change the past, I can't live with it, but I can shove it in a locked chest deep in the realms of lost thoughts, where it will rarely rear it's ugly head. So that's what I did. Hesitation could not hold me as I heard a pitiful knock on the door. I assumed postman, door-to-door salesman, everything but the one person who I knew would have to return sooner rather than later. I pulled open the door, and the smile fell from my face and shattered on the floor like glass.  
"Wheatley..." I said, mouth agape.

"Hi...? I was actually expecting Chell to answer, it's really early in the morning for you," he smiled weakly, pushing past me. It would seem the moron wanted to act like nothing ever happened. Fat chance. I grabbed his arm, and pulled him back. "Get out."  
"What?" He laughed nervously.  
"You heard me. You've done more than enough damage."  
"This is my house! You can't kick me out!"  
"Watch me!" I spat, giving him a hard shove out of the door, and shutting it firmly. Phew, that was close. Chell must never know he returned today, it would break her heart knowing I made him go. But what I did was better than him breaking her heart again. Or so I told myself.

I didn't credit Wheatley with any more intelligence than a pea, so felt both shocked and enraged when he charged angrily through the back door, headed for the stairs, for Chell. I caught him in the kitchen, both of us completely fuming.  
"Get out of the way!" He hissed, pushing me aside. I stepped into his path.  
"No. I won't let you hurt Chell again!" I shouted, shoving him in the chest with all my might and causing him to stumble slightly.  
"What are you even doing here?" Wheatley cried, regaining balance.  
"Chell let me stay the night, to help her recover from what you did!"  
Wheatley looked aghast, most likely imagining 'stay the night' to mean 'stay in Chell's bed all night'. Overprotective old sod.  
"Did she have nightmares?" Wheatley asked casually.  
"Yes."  
"Ha, bet you couldn't stop them. Because only I can stop her suffering. She needs me to release the past, and all of this is not helping her, it's helping you!"

"That's it!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. "Get out!"  
"I'm going to see my girlfriend!"  
"That wasn't an option!" I screamed, and gave Wheatley a hard push into the back garden, this time following him. This ended now.

**Wheatley POV - **  
"You think you can just appear out of the blue and everything will go back the same as before? Because that's sick. You're sick," Rick shouted at me, his eyes harsh and unforgiving. I tried anyway, for our friendship.  
"Please, I'm sorry!" I begged helplessly.  
"That's not good enough!"  
"Chell will forgive me! Why can't you?"  
"You don't deserve to be forgiven! She's too good for you! Any girl is too good for you!"  
"You're just jealous!" I yelled, not expecting Rick's next move. His face turned down in disgust and rage, and before I had a chance to even comprehend the situation, his rock-solid fist walloped into my gut.  
"Ow!" I cried out, stepping backwards. I didn't want to fight, I'm far too lanky and uncoordinated for it to ever end well for me. "Stop it! Can't we just talk about this?"  
Rick's knee came up, and I sidestepped deftly, prepared that time. His bony knee still hit my thigh, but that was far better than where it was aimed.

"Do you get some sort of kick out of beating innocent people up?" I shoved him away from me, and began returning for the house.  
"Only cold hearted murderers."  
I stopped dead in my tracks, fury washing through me in violent quakes. Moving so quickly I didn't have time to stop myself, my own fist connected with Rick's nose. He staggered slightly, and a tiny trickle of blood began to form under one nostril. He wiped it shakily, inspecting the blood.  
"I'm not a murderer!" I shouted angrily, although deep down my heart ached from the sting of the insult. It was true, I am a murderer. However I didn't want to admit it to anyone - it hurt too much.  
"You are a murderer! A murderer and the world's biggest wuss! Only you could make that possible!" His insult angered me further, but I didn't have the energy to fight back physically anymore. Rick's words hurt too much, they were like knives slowly slicing my heart into two jagged halves.  
"At least I came back, and I know Chell will forgive me! Because she loves me! Nobody could ever love you, you're mean and selfish and vain and big-headed! I bet if you had a child they would run away from you, if you didn't kill it first! I bet you would cause a miscarriage within two days of getting someone pregnant, because you're so wrapped up in your own stupid self!"

I really deserved what came next. As soon as I shouted my mini speech, I regretted it. Pain filled Rick's eyes, but he tried to hide it gallantly.  
"Shut up!" he hollered, and walloped me across the jaw. It made a strange thwack sound, and pain shot through it in fiery spasms. Blood gushed from the newly opened wound, and I tried to stem the warm liquid with my quivering fingers. It was hardly a Good Samaritans act, but I didn't hit back. If I'm honest, I deserved that punch so much. No, I would be the better person. Trying to look brave and failing, I retreated back into the house, shutting the door behind me, slightly scared. I peered out of the window, to see Rick curse violently and leap over back gate. That was when Chell entered the kitchen

"Wheatley..." She whispered, frozen like a statue. I looked away anxiously, then held my arms open. She ran into them, and I hugged her tightly.  
"I'm so so so sorry Chell! Will you ever forgive me? I've been such a jerk and I ruined everything! I'm sorry!"  
"Don't be silly, of course I forgive you," she smiled, eyes full of love, to my relief. A grin lit up my own face, and I kissed Chell happily, wishing Rick would be as easy to win over.

Chell's lips were soft on mine, and I pushed my body against hers, wanting to be as close as possible. My long arms wrapped all the way around the small of her back, and then some. I smiled through the kiss, and I could feel Chell doing the same thing, as we stayed interlocked like matching puzzle pieces. Her hands clung around my neck, our foreheads touching. Gently, I pulled back, and kissed her nose.  
"I love you," I whispered, nudging into her cheek a little.  
"I love you too."  
"I'm sorry, I-"  
That was when she silenced me with another kiss, and I lost my train of thought completely.  
"My life would be nothing without you, please don't ever leave me," Chell whimpered, and I shook my head, kissing her jawline directly by her ear.  
"Never. You're like... What an orange portal is to a blue portal - we need each other to work," I murmured, thinking of the best explanation I could. It seemed to work, because she smiled.

"Are you getting shorter?" I asked jokingly as I made a point of having to bend over simply to hug her.  
"Are you getting taller?" She laughed, and stood on her tiptoes. Scrap that, I lifter her completely in the air, holding her against me like a parent does a little human. Her legs wound around my waist like a little monkey, and I chuckled.  
"Aren't I heavy?" Chell questioned, looking down at the floor worriedly. I did have a record of dropping plates and glasses.  
"No, not at all. I carried you all over Aperture, and then home."  
"True. To think, I used to be able to carry you as well. Now you're double the size of me."  
"I like it, it wasn't very nice being so tiny with no limbs. I felt useless for half of my existence as a core."  
"You were actually extremely helpful to me," she whispered, resting her chin on my shoulder.  
"At the time I hated myself, but now I'm just glad my stupidity allowed your escape. It would seem GLaDOS replaced her hate for you with an even stronger hate for me."  
"Well, that's not a good thing, Wheatley. I can beat all you oversized computers, but you probably wouldn't do so well."  
"She isn't coming after us anymore luv, I ripped half of her wires out, remember? Oh yeah, that means I can beat oversized computers!"  
"After I saved you from being impaled through the heart!" Chell objected, mock punching my arm and sliding down my chest to the floor. I shrugged, and wiped her cheek softly, pretending to caress it, because some of the blood from my wound had smushed onto her flushed skin.

"Anyway, happy reunion over, what happened to your face?" Chell demanded. She hadn't given the cut a miss after all.  
"Well... I... I... I triiiiiped?" I said, dragging my words out till they sounded almost like a question.  
"You're a terrible liar Wheatley. Also, have you seen Rick, he was here earlier."  
"Mmm, I've seen Rick... But he was... just leaving."  
"After fighting you?" Chell guessed, lifting my chin up to the light so she could inspect the wound. Damn, she was good at figuring stuff out.  
"Well... He started it! And I only hit him once, he hit me three whole times!" I whined.  
"Where did you hit him?" She asked curiously, grabbing some kitchen roll and mopping up the blood.  
"The nose. It bled. Then he punched my jaw, which, as you can see, also bled."

"What were you arguing about?" Chell wondered aloud, putting some antibacterial alcohol wash thing on my face that made me wince.  
"You," I shrugged matter-of-factly, rubbing my sore chin.  
"Don't touch it! And I hope you don't mean arguing over me as arguing over having me," she said fiercely, a warning of how nobody should ever get in her bad books.  
"No! Course not! Rick thought I would keep breaking your heart, and he was mad I ran away. So I apologised, then he attacked me, then we started shouting insults at each other, then he punched my face, then I came back inside to end the fight, then he cursed and jumped over our back gate."  
"Oh, okay," she muttered, holding my hand. "You need a shower and a change of clothes if you slept rough all night."  
"Yuck, water!" I grimaced, but after kissing her forehead one more time, I ran off upstairs to wash, leaving a laughing Chell far behind me.

It wasn't until I looked at myself in the mirror I realised how grimy I truly was. My hair was all over the place, and a smudge of dirt rested on my left cheek. The cut didn't help, it was a gash stretching out from the corner of my lips to halfway down my chin, lined with dark red blotches. My palms were dirty too, and I washed them hastily, slightly disappointed in myself. Chell lost her child too, and she didn't run off, she only got stronger. I seemed pretty pathetic in comparison.

I. Hate. Water. It was trickling into my ears, shampoo ran into my eyes and it burnt, ugh. Human life wasn't giving me a warm welcome home, let's just say that. As I managed to tip the last remnants of bubbly water from my ear, I couldn't help but keep wondering: what would I be doing now if none of the past day or two had occurred? Rick would still be my friend, that's something. I wouldn't have this ugly slice on my chin, and Chell and I would probably be snuggled up watching a film right now, me being extra careful not to lean on her pregnant tummy. Then I would wander around aimlessly getting in the way whilst Chell tried to make us lunch. Mid-afternoon-ish, Rick would probably finally wake up, and trudge over here to be a loveable pain to everyone. Unfortunately, I didn't realise how bliss, how special that life was until my clumsiness and stupidity lost it. Now, well there's hardly any going back.

"Do you plan to stay in there the whole day?" Chell called through the bathroom door as she walked past.  
"No!" I replied defensively. "The shower attacked me violently and went in my ear and then the shampoo went into my eyes, that stuff is like acid, I swear!"  
"The shower hasn't been on for half an hour, Wheatley," she chuckled.  
"Well... Oh I'll be out soon anyway!"  
"Have a shave whilst you're at it, you're all... Stubbly."  
Oh God, not again. For some reason male humans have to carve their facial hair off with these mini knife things, and if you slip - as I often do - then you get cut.

"Do you want me to do it for you?" Chell sighed softly, acting like she minded. I don't think she did. Although I couldn't accept, it would hurt my pride so.  
"Nonono, I can do it," I claimed hastily, brandishing the shaving cream and a razor.  
"Be careful then honey..." I vaguely heard Chell mutter, but she was already leaving to go do more stuff around the house.

As gently as possible, I nudged the button on the can of shaving foam, and loads of the stuff spurted everywhere. Good start. Slowly, I began wiping it all over my lower face and under my chin, smothering all the stupid stubble in feather-light destruction. That was the easy bit, and I found it challenging, so I assumed the next step of actually removing the hair would be a disaster, or even catastrophic.  
Fear consumed me, my hands began to shake, and I lifted the blade to my cheek. My eyes automatically squinted, for I could hardly bear to watch, then my hand pulled the sharp metal down my face. Somehow, I managed to survive without cutting anything except the stubble off; now I just had to repeat that several times more until my face was smooth again. Easier said than done. Unless you're Chell and you're inside Aperture, in which case for some reason you don't speak, therefore things are easier done than said. Which is odd and confusing so I decided to stop thinking about it. I mean, okay even I can figure out she didn't talk to GLaDOS because that would give the evil hunk-of-junk more to judge her with, but why didn't Chell talk to me? It just didn't make sense. Was it a good idea to ask her that later? Well, I didn't see why not.

Luckily, I managed to get away from shaving with only one tiny nick on my neck, right by my 'adam's apple' as humans called it. I sniggered at the word apple, because I still remember the day Chell and I first met, in her little test suspension storage... Room. Although it was more like a box, and I would know, I had to be in charge of ALL of them. Although, Chell happened to be the first - and the last - person I ever helped.

When I emerged downstairs, I found myself with an opportunity to sneak up on Chell, for she had her back to the kitchen door, cooking something on the hob. Smiling, I tiptoed over, and wrapped my arms around her waist suddenly, causing her to squeal like a guinea-pig in shock.  
"It's not funny!" She wailed, causing me to laugh even harder.  
"Get off or I won't feed you," Chell grinned objectively, gently yet firmly elbowing my ribs.  
"Okay, okay I'm going, I'm going," I mumbled, taking a step back and trying to muffle my laughs in such a way they ended up as snorts. I couldn't decide what was worse.

A few seconds later, I got bored of staying out of the way, and stood directly behind Chell, bodies touching. My chin rested on her scalp of its own accord, and I began to play with a strand of her soft hair innocently. She didn't shoo me away.  
"Chell...?" I began uncertainly, teasing her hair around my finger in a complicated curl.  
"Mmm?" She replied, stirring food around in a saucepan.  
"How come you... You didn't talk in Aperture?"  
"You know why, Wheatley."  
"Yeah, I know why you didn't talk to GLaDOS but I wasn't judging you, how come you didn't chat to me?"  
"Because then I would run a risk if GLaDOS hearing me..." She whispered shiftily, appearing to be hiding something.  
"What else?" I whispered anxiously, kissing her hair.  
"Because if we talked then I worried we would both get attached to each other. And there is no point making friendships or allies or relationships in Aperture, because death can so quickly occur. I could have failed in a test and died at any point, you almost got crushed into oblivion by GLaDOS, I thought if I held a huge blank for a personality in your eye, then it wouldn't hurt at all if I died."  
"It was always going to hurt, because you have such an intricate personality that I could slowly unravel and reveal pieces. I became pretty good at reading you before long."  
"I suppose," Chell muttered, turning off the hob and edging around me so she could grab a couple of plates. Yum food, I had missed the stuff overnight.

"Wheatley, get out of the way!" Chell moaned, as she turned around with a pan full of boiling water and nearly burnt me. I yelped in protest, and sat on the counter instead.  
"You're like a little kid, you know that?" Chell smiled, patting my hand as she walked past. The very mention of children set off a pang of guilt and pain in my chest, and I rubbed it woefully. My imagination went wild, I could imagine a little child running around the house - our child. He or she would look just like Chell, and have zero of my stupid personality defects. I would play with them every day, and they would have the best life possible. I think I could do it, I think I could be an alright father. Even if that failed, I know Chell would have been an amazing mum. My breathing thickened, turning into deep sighs. If only.

"You okay?" Chell asked sweetly, placing plates of pasta with some kind of tomato sauce on the table and laying two sets of cutlery beside them.  
"Yeah, never better," I smiled weakly, and went to sit opposite her. "Just hungry."  
Which was true, but not the reason for my gloomy mindset. Still, Chell accepted this excuse, and looked into my eyes for the truth instead. I hoped I wasn't too easy to read.

"You really ought to make it up to Rick," Chell suddenly pointed out about halfway through the awkwardly silent meal.  
"He hates me though, and with good reason."  
"No, he thinks he has good reasons, but you've done nothing wrong, Wheatley. Accidents can't be helped, and you can place them in a positive light by learning from them. Rick will come around, he needs his sidekick back."  
"Yeah, he does," I grinned. "Thanks luv."  
"How are you going to play it then?" She asked curiously, looking at me with affection and respect.  
"Erm... Well I already tried saying sorry. That didn't work as I planned," I chuckled, pointing at my chin. "Can I just lie and say the baby is still... You know... Alive?"  
"No!" Chell objected, shaking her head in a bemused fashion. "Why don't you just explain?"

"Explain what?" I questioned, leaning back in my chair till it balanced haplessly on just two legs.  
"Why you ran away. How much of an accident it really was. Just tell him the truth Wheatley, and if he won't hear your honest story out then he's not worth it," she shrugged, standing up and kissing my hair as she lifted our plates into the dishwasher.  
"Yeah!" I agreed enthusiastically, standing up to my full height bravely. "I'm going to do it right now!"  
"Well that was fast," Chell smirked, kissing my cheek fondly as I pulled on my jacket and shoes.  
"I don't like it when he hates me, the sooner he forgives me the sooner my mind can be at rest," I admitted earnestly, squeezing her hands quickly then turning to leave. He had to listen, he had to forgive me.

**Rick POV -** I lay aimlessly on my sofa, playing a violent video game and wriggling my sore nose pitifully. I managed to get it to stop bleeding, but it still throbbed like hell. On screen a monster ate me alive, and I threw the controller frustratedly. Everything was annoying me this afternoon, I was like an aerosol can, one tiny puncture and I'd explode. I clenched my fists and my toes, and hunched up sulkily, so much so I nearly jumped out of my skin when the doorbell chimed loudly.

"Who is it?" I called through the door, as I began to fiddle with the lock and release the latch.  
"It's me," a voice called, muffled by the thick door between us. I had no idea who 'me' was, so instead finally managed to wrench the door open and investigate.  
"Go away Wheatley," I muttered, looking away. He had insulted me so much, I couldn't even bring myself to be angry. I was just hurt.  
"Please, hear me out?" he begged, putting his shoe in the door discreetly just in case.  
"Hear what out? How sorry you are? Because that hardly changes anything does it?"  
"No, just listen to me explain. Please, I'm begging you. Please? Please? Please please pleeeease? Please? Plea-"  
"Okay, fine!" I gave up, opening the door wider for him to come in. Wheatley shot through the doorway like a bolting hare, not wanting to give me a chance to reconsider. Unfortunately, I couldn't help but smile, he was just like old times and I think part of me really wanted us to be friends again.

"Okay, I'm listening," I muttered, folding my arms. Wheatley shifted nervously, running his fingers through his hair.  
"Well... I... Erm... Basically... It's sort of like... I'm sorry, okay! I know that doesn't help, but I am! And everything I said earlier was a lie because I was angry and wanted to hurt your feelings! Yesterday, well yesterday was all an accident, Rick! I didn't know Chell was standing in the doorway, so I kicked the ball. By the time I realised, it was too late! Then, I tried to help Chell, I honestly did, but you stopped me! After that, you sent me to get your car even though that's illegal on your behalf because you know I don't have a licence and can't drive for toffee, and so I accidentally scratched one of your side mirrors. But hey, surely you're just lucky I didn't blow the whole car up or get caught or anything! Of course, I know running away was the completely wrong thing to do, because Chell needed me... Maybe, maybe even you needed me. But I was just so afraid, afraid that Chell would hate me forever. Afraid that you would get even madder at me. Most of all, guilt pushed me away, it filled me to the brim till I hated myself so much I ran. And look, I'm sorry, for everything. Please forgive me."

My brain whirred, picking up on every positive and negative, trying to determine a final answer. It was hard. One part of me wanted to forgive Wheatley instantly, because deep down I knew he was innocent. However, the over half of me was bitter, and never wanted to see him again. War was waging inside my head, and in truth it hurt. I was so confused. In the end, everything just snapped.  
"No!" I yelled frustratedly. "You're a moron, a murderer, a wimp, a heartbreaker, and a bad friend. I HATE you! I never want to see you again!"

Wheatley's face dropped, smile running downwards like trickling water, and tears of fear and anger began to extinguish the spark in his bright, gleaming blue eyes.  
"I'm sorry... I'll see you around... Or not," he shrugged, and turned to leave mournfully. "It's not like I can make you change your mind."

It was my turn to feel guilty now, he looked so innocent. Because he was innocent. Everything was an accident, so he couldn't help it. I had to swallow back my own tears as I ran after Wheatley and grabbed his stiff arm just before he left.  
"Wheatley, wait!" I cried, tugging pitifully on his shirt.  
"Yeah?" He sniffed, eyes watery and loveable grin absent.  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean what I just said! I forgive you, it wasn't your fault at all. Friends?"

His tears spilled over, but the grin returned, wider than ever.  
"Yeah, friends. The best."  
A smile planted itself on my own face, and I held my hand out for a fist-bump. Of course that wasn't enough for Wheatley, he pushed it out of the way to avoid a knuckle in his ribs and pulled me in for a giant hug, warm and matey and comforting. I wasn't usually a hugger, but for once in my life, I couldn't help but wrap my arms around him too - but only briefly of course.  
"The best," I repeated, smiling happily. I had my friend back, and it felt amazing.

**AN/... So if you liked it, please review! They mean a lot to me! Next chapter will be up ASAP, and as I've been saying, happy chapters onwards from here to the end =).**


	14. Chapter 14

**AN/... Omg. I'm sorry it's been so long since I updated. I wrote chapter 14 and it was perfect and then I accidentally deleted it Dx. I can't rewrite stuff the same to save my life, so it's completely different and probably crappy and boring, but I'm going to say enjoy anyway and hope you do =/. Although on the bright side I just had my birthday and got a Wheatley cake and an inflatable turret, which is pretty cool. ;)**

**Chapter 14 - Competitive Streak**

**Wheatley POV - **

"I win! I win!" I declared, pushing Rick playfully and whooping happily. Of course, our newly reformed friendship meant we could play video games and eat junk food together again.

"That's not fair! You got all the easy enemies, I got all the strong ones!" Rick whined.

"Fine, then a rematch? And swap controllers too, so you can't moan about how your one is bust when I win again!" I cried, nicking his battered controller and swapping it with my own. True, these little guys had gone through a lot of abuse, but they worked just fine.

"Shut up, I'm going to whip your ass!" Rick retorted, rolling his feet up on the sofa determinedly.

"We'll see," I stated calmly, picking up a biscuit from the coffee table and munching on it thoughtfully, thinking about strategies and how bloodthirsty monsters wanted to rip my player's head clean from its body. Rick pressed play, and we both shot into competitive action.

"Bang. Bang. Bang bang bang." I chanted cheerfully, shooting enemies in slow succession. Rick glared at me with annoyance, and left me to go grab all the best supplies.

"I'm gonna win, I can feel it!" I told him, ignoring the competitive streak that drove Rick when it came to games.

"Ya wanna see something cool? Come over here," he told me, and my stupidly muscular, brown haired, fully armed avatar cautiously approached Rick's black-haired, tall one.

"All I can see is darkness.." I started confusedly.

"Naaah, you see that red flashing light there, shoot it and you get a secret weapon! I'm gonna leave the room so my character doesn't accidentally pick it up, 'kay?"

"Why are you...?" I muttered suspiciously, aiming my gun at the treasure. Oh well, deep breath... Fire.

My half of the screen filled with orange-red flames, splats of blood, and a deafening bang could be heard. _'You are dead'_, the screen drizzled in thick blood, frustratingly obvious.

"I won!" Rick screeched, punching the air victoriously.

"That's not fair! You made me shoot a trap which you quite obviously set up somehow!"

"I didn't make you, I suggested it. Your idiocy made you fall for it!" Rick replied, still soaking up his cheated success.

"My idiocy?" I demanded, dropping the controller without acknowledging it.

"Yeah!"

I pushed him off the sofa completely, and he fell onto the hard floor with a guarded yelp. My laughter didn't last long though, because Rick yanked my feet disdainfully, and I tumbled to the floor. He jumped over my stomach, pinning me down into a helpless sprawl.

"Who won?" He asked me gleefully, eyes glinting wickedly.

"Meeee!" I giggled, trying to push him off.

"Who won?" He repeated, pushing his sharp elbows into my ribcage.

"Owowow. Meeee!"

His elbows went deeper.

"Owch! Hey! Fine, you won," I muttered, knowing when I had been beaten.

"Don't you forget it," Rick laughed, sitting up and pulling me after him. Although I wasn't overcome that easily, and with a playful glint in my eye, I leapt at Rick, pinning him down in the same manner he did me.

"Oi! Get off!" Rick grumbled, pushing at my chest weakly. "You weigh a ton, get off!"

"I can always beat you when we play fairly!" I claimed, pushing him against the floor even harder.

"You're insane! Truly! You're gonna hurt me if you push down any harder!"

And just like that, as fast as a gunshot, I sat up, drawing my knees to my chest. Rick bolted up too, rubbing his side and groaning slightly.

"That really hurt!" He moaned, pulling his legs towards his body and crossing them like a little schoolboy. An old feeling I thought I'd buried struggled to make a reappearance, and I desperately tried to ignore it, screwing my eyes shut.

"I have to test, all the time, or I get this... This ITCH."

The woman who I used to look upon as a friend stared up at me fearfully, sparking my annoying conscience that I knew to be the old me which the mainframe tried so desperately to bury.

Don't do this. She's your friend. Let her put GLaDOS back in charge, you can be together again, and escape.

_No!_ I replied hatefully, and continued babbling onto the test subject about my little itch. My wonderful itch.

It's not wonderful you moron! You're going to end up killing her, do you really want that? Quit now, it's the honourable thing to do!

I hissed. _Just 'cause you would quit, doesn't mean I will._ No, quitting isn't my style at all.

Blinking quickly and spreading my outer shell into four separate pieces, I looked down at the woman. Her brown ponytail and determined expression and the scowl she threw at me. For a moment, I remembered when she used to smile at me, to hold me close and protect me as best as she could, just as I desperately tried to protect her. Self-hatred filled my core, and I looked away sadly. I missed the old times. And like my inner voice said, I could revert to them.

_She will never forgive you... _The evil in my chuckled cruelly._ Let's just have some fun. I_ agreed half-heartedly, before snapping back into my monstrous facade. Monstrous, cruel, evil - I liked it.

"You're gonna test. I'm gonna watch. And everything will be just FINE." I grinned maliciously, ignoring her fear. I could sense it, even if she hid all emotions except determination from the outward eye. Being friends with her had one advantage, I could read the mute like a book. Smirking with power, I let the young girl climb the cold metal stairs to her certain doom, all at my mercy...

My mind flickered in expulsions of white and black, making me jump. Arms and legs twitched from my core's body, I was human again, and in a completely different environment. It was just a dream... A nightmare. I should never have fallen asleep alone on the sofa whilst Chell bustled around cleaning. Yes I was tired, but with no warm lover beside me, I knew I would be wracked with the terrifying sub-conscience. My face was hollow, pale and clammy, my breathing rushed. Chell gasped when she entered the room, comparing me to the peacefully sleeping man she saw not half hour ago, then rushed towards me.

I felt her fingers run through my hair in attempt to comfort, but lust filled me and I pushed her away mournfully. She looked momentarily phased, but soon tried to hug me instead.

"No..." I muttered desperately, pulling away and curling up in my own self-despising cloud.

"Wheatley, what's wrong?" She asked, expression a deeply worried one.

"The... The itch..." I squirmed, leaning further away from Chell. I would hurt her. She had other ideas, and grabbed my hand. I flinched, and she dropped all contact like I'd burned her.

"The what? You mean... Like when you were...? No, Wheatley, that's gone now. You were dreaming. There's no itch."

I shook my head defectively, digging my fingernails into the soft flesh along my thighs.

"There is..." I muttered. "I'll hurt you."

Realisation shook through Chell's body, and she smiled weakly.

"The itch isn't the same as desire or love Wheatley. They're completely different, although I imagine they might feel similar. The itch was something to make you test repeatedly, this is just a want to do something or be someone. Humans get it a lot.

"I'll hurt you," I muttered, rocking slightly. Her words bounced off me like I was made of cold reflective metal, I didn't believe in the different itches.

Chell's mouth touched mine in a hot kiss, and my hands automatically pulled her closer to me. However, she quickly pulled away, smiling encouragingly. "That's not the itch, but it feels like it. Humans get a lot of itches but none of them are dangerous. You might get a competitive itch, a loving itch, or an itch to do something, but I can promise you this: you won't hurt anyone with your desires."

"Honest?" I sniffed, grabbing her hand for reassurance.

"Honest," she agreed, squeezing it gently.

"I love you..." I muttered, lost in hazy contemplation. I was safe, desire and the itch... Not the same... I won't ever hurt anyone with it... She promised...

"Wheatz?" Rick's voice suddenly filled my ears, and I opened my eyes to find him not one inch away.

"Gah!" I cried, scooting backwards with shock.

"Sorry!" He apologised quickly, sitting back on his haunches. "You just started daydreaming, and I couldn't wake you up. You alright?"

"Did I hurt you? Honestly?" I murmured, needing to find my peace of mind.

"Nah, not really mate. I've had worse. Anyways, I don't see it as you hurting me, I see it as us mucking around, having a joke, ya know?"

"Yeah... I guess I do," I shrugged.

"You sure you're okay?" Rick checked, looking helpless.

"Didn't know you cared," I laughed, standing up with wobbly feet. He raised one perfect eyebrow, and jumped up strongly.

"Only wanted to check you were okay before we had a rematch on this game. I won't cheat, 'kay? I gotta feeling I'm going to win this time anyway," Rick smiled, handing me my favourite controller, and reloading the game so the unfair death wouldn't affect my score. That was when I realised, it would really suck to hurt Rick, he was my only friend, opposed to Chell, who was obviously more than that but can't provide the same thing as a matching-sex best mate can.

"I think I won," I smirked matter-of-factly, hiding in a safe room to watch Rick's half of the screen as he was swamped by the creepy abominations. He started pressing buttons as fast as humanly possible, but was rewarded only with a few extra seconds of life before the last sector of his health bar disappeared and a limp human body fell to the floor, trampled by the staggering, triumphant enemies.

"Haha, yes!" I whooped for the second time today, relishing in the feeling.

"Aw, c'mon!" Rick whined, throwing the controller across the room. It hit the plasterboard wall in the same place as always, for the sixth time this month, and it had finally taken its fair share of violence. With a sharp crack, the plaster writhed in a spider web pattern around the place of contact, and the battered yet somehow still working controller tumbled into a pile of sports equipment in the corner.

"Seriously?" I commented, grabbing a packet of crisps from the table and opening the packet swiftly.

"You better believe it," Rick laughed, not particularly bothered about the incident. "You know, I can beat you easily at loads of other stuff. It's just guitar hero and this blooming game you are better than me at."

"Prove it," I purred smugly, ninety-nine percent sure I could beat him at anything, now winning that game had boosted my ego.

"I will. What game d'ya wanna challenge me at?"

"Guitar hero."

"Apart from that, I mean c'mon, you actually play guitar so have a giant advantage! I'm talking... Sport."

"Arm wrestling?" I queried, inspecting my muscles in comparison to his. Well, I did carry a half-dead Chell around Aperture for bloody days, I'm pretty sure I have a strength advantage despite my lanky, all skin-and-bones appearance.

"Sure." And with one lithe movement, Rick swept his arm across the surface before us, clearing it of all our precious junk food. It didn't spill, apart from a few biscuits, and I hoped it would stay that way for Rick's sake, because he never cleans this place and mouldy food probably wouldn't smell so good.

His sharp, bony elbow came into contact with the table, fingers outstretched to accommodate my own. I accepted this challenge, and gripped his hand.

"3... 2... 1-" Rick began, but I intercepted him hastily.

"Wait! Wait wait wait! I don't count down from three, gives ya too long to think about it. Naah, on the count of one is the way forward, I swear!"

"Okay..." He agreed curiously. "On one. Ready?... One!"

Our hands slammed into each other, the equal pressure keeping them both in the centre. But slowly, I began to drive Rick's arm closer and closer to the table. Unfortunately, he had something I did not possess: stamina. After a stable position for around a minute, I began to slip, and my arm went limp with exhaustion. It was slammed down on the table with a heavy thud, and I groaned, rubbing it in pain.

"Oww... Let's try something different," I voted. "I mean you beat me at one thing, that's no biggie. What's next on the agenda?"

"Ermm... I dunno," he replied, grinning smugly. "I won, you know."

"Well... Yeah you won... But did you win overall? See I win on other topics, like-"

"Like what?" He demanded, then broke into a fit of laughter. "Like intelligence?"

"Naaah, IQ is overrated."

"The fact you have to say it's overrated, means you're an idiot. Congratulations."

"On what?" I questioned, then realised how stupid a query that was too late. Rick hooted with laughter, and I frowned. "I can do the knife game, wanna see?"

"I would rather keep my fingers, thanks," Rick backed away slightly, hands safely behind him. Chuckling slightly, I got up and traded to the sofa. Well, that was him put in his place. Or at least, I kidded myself to believe so. I've never actually tried the knife game, and would probably not do very well...

"Bowling?" Rick suddenly said, raising one eyebrow in question.

"I... Err... Bo-what?"

"Bowling. You pretty much pick up a ball and throw it at a bunch if skittles and try and knock them all over. It's fun."

I snorted scoffingly. "Since when have you ever gone bowling?"

"Maybe I have a social life other than you?"

"Maybe. But you don't."

"True. What if I assume bowling is good fun?" He looked at me questioningly, and I shrugged. "Is it?"

"Er... I dunno, but that's the adventure part right?"

Groaning loudly, I crossed my legs, making no efforts to move until Rick threw shoes at my face and yanked relentlessly on my arm until we both made it outside, despite my resistance.

"I don't like adventures though. You don't know what's going to happen," I shuddered, climbing into the passenger side of Rick's battered car.

"Exactly! A mystery! It's fun!"

"I had more than my fair share of that in Aperture, not once was it 'fun'!"

"Bet it was fun you flirting your face off at Chell!" Rick sneered, slipping easily back into his 'lets-tease-Wheatley-all-day' routine.

"That never happened!" I squealed plaintively, turning red. "You can't talk anyway, did you hear yourself during that fight? Poor Chell, being subjected to you!"

Rick's cold bony hand punched my arm, causing me to shove him away. The car swerved slightly, and we glanced at each other, eyebrows raised, suddenly on our best behaviour. Nobody needs a car crash right now.

**Rick POV -**

"Uuuuughhhh. What's that? Rick? Rick! What are those?"

I turned to glare at Wheatley with an irritated gawp. He was pointing at a field with an agitated expression, bouncing up and down in his seat like a five year old. I looked closer, and realised he was pointing to a herd of sheep. Sighing gently, I turned back to the road.

"They're sheep, Wheatley."

"Ooooh. Right. Why do they have so much... Hair? They're like big fluffy fluff-balls. Hehe. Fluffy fluff-balls," Wheatley laughed at his own joke, and I rolled my eyes affectionately. I really can pick 'em.

"It's not fluff or hair, it's fur," I explained, trying to look at least slightly intelligent.

"Eh? Bit odd, sheep don't look very green."

"What?!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands in the air in an exasperated shrug.

"Ya know, fir tree, right?" Wheatley flashed me a hopeful grin, eyes big and bright and... Downright stupid.

"Nope, two different types of fur. Fur the hair, and fir the plant. Sorry 'bout that mate."

"Fir fur, fir fur, fir fur," he chanted, barely paying heed to his beloved livestock as we finally passed all the fields. My best friend: ...the moron.

**Wheatley POV** - Bowling. My mind had envisioned some violent old bloodbath sport, but as Rick led me into the brightly lit, neon-covered building, I was pleasantly surprised. The building had a scent of chips and burgers hanging in the air, alongside that of leather furniture, and it was an alright mix. Music blasted from every corner of the room through giant, modern, black speakers, and the walls were a clear blue. Restaurants covered the upper layer, whilst the bottom was lined with long wooden catwalks. People were throwing heavy spheres down them, knocking over a clan of skittles that rested fearfully on the receiving end of all this destruction. Taking another step on the polished wooden floor, curiosity engulfed me. What an odd human custom... I have so much more left to learn! The human brain must be made up purely of a survival guide! Which means my brain is incomplete, but never mind that.

Rick nudged me none too gently from my trance, so I followed him loyally, unsure of how to react in this new environment. God, I act like a pet dog sometimes.

"Rick... Rick?" I asked unsurely after he had paid for us to enter.

"Yes, Wheatley," he sighed, turning to me patiently.

"What do we have to do?"

He smiled, bemused, and dragged me over to one of the... one of the long thingies with the skittles at the end. Then, he grasped this big red ball, and three of his fingers slipped into little holes at the top. Rick allowed it to hang heavily by his side as he wandered to the head of the lane. Taking up a stance, he aimed, ran, and released. The ball skittered across the slippery wood and sent most of the little white things flying. Grinning victoriously, Rick grabbed a different ball, and slammed it into my chest. I staggered temporarily under its weight, then balanced myself out and concentrated fully on placing three of my fingers inside the cold weapon just as Rick did. Or at least, it acted like a weapon, being thrown at objects with the sole purpose of destruction all day and that. Shaking nervously, I edged my feet onto the edge of the aisle, closed my eyes with fear, and lobbed the sphere as hard as I could in the vague direction of a straight line. A loud bang filled my ears, and I dared open one eye, covering the other with my hand in shame.

The disaster scene wasn't as bad as I first thought luckily. The ball didn't actually touch the floor till about three quarters down the line, explaining the crash. After trying and failing to fly, it somehow managed to knock over a few lone skittles anyway. A thick stream of air fled my lips in a relieved sigh, and I took a step back cautiously.

"I-ahh-err- Rick?" I began, palms clammy. "Rick, are you sure this is a good idea? I nearly missed and I might break something... Or someone."

"Ehh," he waved me aside, unconcerned. "It'll be fine."

"Well... If you say so, then it's your go. Indefinitely. You can have an infinite go."

"Nonono!" Rick objected, laughing gently. "How will you prove that you're better than me if you don't have a turn?"

My face held a nauseous pallor, and I shook my head violently. "I don't care about winning this game, it's too dangerous."

"Awh, you wimp! Scared you'll lose?" Rick sneered cattily. I knew he was teasing, I did, but... Well peer pressure is certainly as persuasive as they say, and I tossed a bowling ball to him in remark.

"I'm not frightened!" I grimaced in disgust, sitting back on one of the soft leather benches and waiting - no anticipating - for Rick to tumble or drop the ball on his foot or something that would enable me to win and him to agree on leaving. Okay, I was a little afraid, but not much. Trust stupid old Wheatley to have been to hell and back with all this Aperture stuff, yet freak out at a bowling alley. Although, I wasn't per se scared, more worried that I would injure someone or break something that didn't belong to me. We had a bunch of little kids next to us, for example, what if I accidentally dropped one of the heavy spheres on their heads? Unlikely, but plausible. Very plausible.

Rick smiled encouragingly in my direction, realising he might have gone too hard on me, then quickly rolled the ball and somehow scored himself a 'strike'. A strike! How'd he do that? Oh God, I was going to lose, and look like a huge moron in front of everyone! Ugh. How do I redeem myself now? Yes, I know it's stupid to act so competitive, but I swear I can't help it. I think it's a human thing. Or at least, I hope it is, otherwise I'm going corrupt again.

Rising to my feet, I tried to look strong as I lifted yet another of these bowling balls, and faced the aisle determinedly. If I just beat Rick, perhaps he wouldn't tease me so much, maybe we could be more best friends, less big brother and little brother. I guess I will never know how that determination would affect my score, because Rick materialised behind me, scaring the hell out of me.

"Gah!" I yelled, dropping the heavy lump of metal or plastic or whatever it was made of. Unfortunately, it landed not on the floor, but on Rick's foot, accompanied by a deafening crunch.

"Owww!" he reeled back, then cursed loudly. "What was that for?"

"You scared me on purpose didn't you? Well I guess karma exists then, because when I jump I tend to drop stuff!"

"Yeah but-"

"But..." I pushed, trying to get him to finish his sentence.

"But that bloody hurt and I'm going to f-"

"Nonono! You can't swear in here, there's kids and stuff!" I cut him off hastily, looking around at all the attention we had caught and smiling nervously.

"I'm going to _bloody_ kill you, then," he amended, crossing his arms. "That really hurt!"

"I'm sorry!" I cried, exasperated, picking up the bowling ball from his foot, and poking it grudgingly. "Well it doesn't look broken."

"It feels broken!" Rick retorted, taking several steps away from me sulkily.

"For someone who pretends to be so tough, you don't half act like a drama-queen." My comment hung in the air, followed by a silence. I used the time to try and do one of those fancy run-ups Rick did before he let go of the ball. Yes, I said try. Because I didn't exactly succeed.

As I began to run, I realised what a mistake this was. I couldn't do sport of any description, let alone attempt to do an advanced approach. But, when I stopped myself, I skidded, falling on my butt and sliding over the yellow and black hazard line that separated the safe bowling alley from the dangerously slippery lane.

"Oof!" I panted, all the air knocked from my body. The bowling ball had fallen in the silvery-grey gutter besides me, and rolled hesitantly towards its doom, being swept away with the skittles by a giant black claw, only to be replaced. Well, the ball somehow appears back at the top again several minutes later, but that's not the point. The point was, I couldn't help but notice I was slowly moving along the ice-like wooden panels towards the weird creepy crushy thing. Not good.

Panic ensued, and I scrambled to my feet, only to fall again. People were watching me with a shocked and worried expression, which made me even more nervous and freaked out.

"Wheatley!" Rick shouted, eyes wide. "Stop trying to stand up!"

"Easier said than done mate," I called, looking behind me fearfully. I really didn't want to become crushed bowling-person smoothie. Remind me why I'm cursed with such idiocy? What did I do wrong this time? Whatever everyone else finds simple, I have to find ten times more difficult, don't I? There was me a year or so ago, thinking that with human life might come relief from my 'intelligence dampening' side. Fat chance.

**Rick POV** - The sofa I sat on was bright red, just like my mood. My breathing was deep as I tried to cool it. Wheatley didn't mean to drop it on my foot... He's just a bit stupid... Yeah. A bit stupid, not his fault. Definitely not his fault. I shouldn't be mad, I should be apologising to him - for scaring him. My adventurous side really needed anger management. Sometimes it just takes complete control. My competitiveness doesn't help. My decision to be kind to Wheatley again was completely enforced as I glanced up just as he tumbled over, sliding mercilessly over the danger warnings onto the slippery bowling lane. My heart leapt into my throat, and I tried to swallow it bravely. Yup, this is what I'm made for. Although now it feels a lot more serious, the damsel in distress being my best friend all of a sudden. If the atmosphere wasn't so tense and worrying, I would have laughed. Wheatley the damsel. But the mood was tense and extremely serious, and I was worried sick for his safety, so I leapt to my feet, running towards him.

"Wheatley!" I shouted, catching the frightened eyes of my friend. "Stop moving around!"

"Easier said than done mate!" He replied, looking at the gaping hole at the base of the aisle, the main object of danger. If he fell down that, he would get mashed up. And he was horribly close to that fate. I looked down at my feet. Unlike Wheatley, I had kept the bowling shoes on that we were given upon entry. They gotta have good grip, right? Ignoring the bumbling staff that had just arrived at the scene trying to hold me back, I ran onto the lane, holding my arms out for balance. I could do this, I could. Before my body could even think about overbalancing, I snagged Wheatley's palm, and yanked him to unstable feet. Carefully, as though we were treading on really thin ice, I guided him back to safety.

Some people clapped. Others looked on in disgust at our stupidity. Mostly, the staff were angry. Absolutely fuming. Banned, for life, from their precious bowling alley. I don't think they will forget out faces either. Although, in all fairness, I don't think Wheatley will ever want to return. On the bright side, he wasn't too traumatised by his near-injury experience, and instead was leaning on me as we creased up outside.

"That was- their faces... Man alive, that was funny!" he gasped, laughing so hard no sound escaped his lips.

"I know, that was so worth being chucked out!" I agreed, holding my sides, which were consequently hurting, and clambering into my car. Wheatley followed, face red as he tried to keep the laughter at a normal rate.

"Where to?" I asked him, smiling happily.

"Home," he replied, drumming his fingers on the glove box. "I've had enough of your 'adventure' for one day. Or for a lifetime."

"Fair enough." My smile split into a grin, and we began the sort of long journey home.

**Wheatley POV** -

"Sure you don't want to stay at mine for a bit?" Rick asked me, pulling up onto his drive and parking neatly.

"Naah, Chell will wonder where I got to," I replied, feeling slight guilty as his face drooped a little. "Until tomorrow?" I mock-saluted, just like in a film we both love.

"Probably," he nodded, holding his hand out for our secret handshake. I obliged, then left him in the dark, walking past his house and the next one along before turning up my own front path. I knocked on the door, not bothering to get out my keys. I'm sure Chell will be in earshot and answer.

Sure enough, I was correct, she wrenched the door open and smiled up at me.

"Hey luv," I greeted, kissing her hair as I walked past into the hallway. "How was your afternoon?"

"Boring. The evening will be better."

I grinned, shedding off my jacket and shoes. "Oh aye?"

"Well, you're here now."

Reflexively, my arms yanked Chell into a bone-crushing hug, refusing to release her. She allowed me this for a while, as we just stood entwined in the flickering moonlight that crept through the front door. Because with every embrace, we fear it may be our last. Aperture is out there somewhere, and who knows what's happening inside those white facility walls. Eventually though, we pulled away from each other, meandered into the brightly-lit lounge and, curling up on the sofa with the TV yapping in the background, we chatted about nothing of importance.

"Wheatley," Chell began, smiling. "Do you remember what Christmas is?"

"Yeah, why'd you ask?"

"It's December, you wally."

"So?" I asked, looking at her cluelessly. Was I missing something?

"Christmas is on the twenty-fifth of December," she hung onto the last word, looking for any sign of recognition in my expression.

"Ooohhhh yeeah," I exclaimed, surprised. "I forgot all about that! Why bring this up now, anyway?"

"I've been invited to a Christmas party, and I was wondering if you would maybe... Come with me?"

My jaw went slack in shock, and I gulped. Chell never took me with her when she was invited out. It was pretty risky business unleashing me on the unsuspecting public, especially when they had been kind enough to invite her. In truth, I had no idea what a party was other than it was a gathering of friends or colleagues. I didn't know what happened there, or why they occurred, all I knew is that I absolutely wanted to go with Chell. I hated being left home alone when she went out, because she always dressed up so beautifully and didn't come back till really late and I felt inclined to stay up and wait for her rather than go to bed alone and get nightmares.

"Yes!" I agreed, kissing her happily. "Can I really? This isn't a joke?"

"No, it's not a joke," Chell smiled, kissing me back. I pushed her backwards, supporting her neck with my strong arms and preparing to never let go.

**AN/... Okay, there was a cute little completely rewritten about 5 times Rick and Wheatley bromance chapter, I hope you guys enjoyed it for all the effort it took to write! Sorry it's been so long, hopefully I won't accidentally delete the next one and it will be up ASAP =/. Please review and I'll try to upload the next chapters weekly again! xD**


	15. Sorry

AN/... I know this isn't a proper chapter, and I shouldn't do this really but there's no other way to tell you all. I don't know when my next chapter will be up. I've really hurt my wrist, like really badly. I can't use it properly, right now I am typing with one hand, it's taking forever and it's tiring. I'm mega sorry. I'm sure I'll be back in a couple of weeks. Please don't moan at me for my cyber silence, because I physically cannot write a chapter right now when I'm struggling to type a paragraph. Have an amazing Christmas and an awesome new year x ;) see you all in 2013 I expect, unless my wrist makes a miraculous recovery before 31st.


	16. Chapter 15

**AN/... I'm back! My wrist is bandaged, I refused a sling, and I'm not supposed to use it, but hey! I'm using it to write for all you lovely people! At any rate (watch out I feel a revamped portal quote coming)... I have to write all time or I get this... this ITCH =P. Thanks for all the reviews, words cannot explain how happy they make me :'). Whoever wondered if I would write a fanfic about Wheatley going mad (Pretty sure their name was 'Guest' haha and they didn't sign it off so sorry), I've already done a fanfic about that! Only a oneshot, but it's something! I'm kinda working on this at the moment, I'm sure that this story won't be the last you hear of me ;).  
Anyway, I'm sorry that I'm now a little behind schedule so the christmas chapters are kinda late, bear with! (An extended Christmas is my belated christmas present to all of you amazing people who read this)! Happy new year, and I really hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**Chapter 15 - "Can we keep him?"**

**Wheatley POV -** White concrete mixed with huge modern sheets of shimmering glass towered above us, making me feel tiny and insignificant. The building filled me with awe, and my brain whirred and crunched at the thought of all the other smaller buildings inside. Yup, we sure as hell had arrived at Applevale shopping centre. Bloody massive, it really is. Especially since I've never even been to this town before, it was a few boroughs across from our humble village, and met the size requirements of a small city rather than a 'large town'. The sun wavered in the crisp blue sky, unsure whether it would face another visit from its archenemy, rain, today. With the sun's gentle warmth on my back, I took a cautious step forwards, as if the whole mall was about to come alive and swallow me whole.

On the other hand, Chell did not look so surprised. It was safe to assume she had been here before, most likely with some friends, having some girl-time... Whatever. I didn't do 'girl-time', they go all giggly and loud and downright squeal over every cute boy that dared walked past. Ugh, I had witnessed many groups of best girl-friends around the sparse clothing stores back home, and all I could do was take the mick with Rick. Anyway, I was drifting again. Snapping back to reality like elastic, I smiled weakly and grabbed Chell's hand for comfort. Applevale Shopping Centre: it was huge, modern, unlike anything I've ever seen before, and just downright unnerving.

Tugging softly, Chell pulled me towards the entrance (jeez, even the door was tall enough to accommodate an elephant and a giraffe side-by-side), and into the actual building, rather than simply gawping from the outside. Gleaming black tiles lay beneath my feet in a uniform line stretching as far as the eye could see, rimmed either side by hundreds of brightly lit shops, shops for clothes, toys, food, plants, paintings, ornaments, bikes - you name it they had it. Glancing above me unfortunately confirmed that this place stretched infinitely upwards as well, and I groaned aloud, attracting the bemused attention of a few strangers who milled nearby. The place was considerably jam-packed now I come to think of it.

"What's wrong?" Chell whispered, rubbing soothing circles on the back of my hand and gazing at my face anxiously.  
"This place is ginormous! Don't lose me!" I quivered, afraid of being left all alone.  
"We'll be fine, how could I ever misplace you," Chell smiled, stopping quickly to peck my cheek with a petite kiss. Not a big one, nor particularly romantic, but it provided motivation enough not to be discouraged by first appearances. After closer observation I did notice a lot of maps dotted about, so hopefully getting lost would prove more difficult than I originally thought. Although who knows, this is me we're talking about.

Wait, wait! I can practically hear you all wondering why the heck I'm at a shopping centre. Yes, stupid old Wheatley didn't put this in chronological order, evidently. Well, it doesn't need to be. Pitstop here and I'll explain. Basically, it was the eleventh of December. Chell had been invited to a Christmas party for her work on the nineteenth. She wanted to get a nice dress for it. Secondly, for some unknown reason my name appeared next to hers on the invitation, God knows who made them, so she invited me to come too. And apparently I have to dress formally too. It sucks.

Anyway, we were going to go shopping for clothes to wear. Chell said we could maybe go to a nice cafe or something to grab some lunch, then in the afternoon if we had finished our actual mission of buying formal party outfits, we could just browse the place. And now, you're asking, what does dumb old Wheatley know about Christmas? I'll have you know my human form is older than one year old, I celebrated the twenty-fifth last year. I gave Chell a necklace, she gave me a new jacket, I gave Rick some chocolate, he gave me nothing... Well you know how it works.

Of course we had come here to buy nice outfits for the party, but I got distracted almost immediately. Curiosity overcame the fear, and soon I was the one dragging Chell around, trying to entice her into every single shop we encountered, and believe me there were a lot. However, I was pretty lenient on whether the outcome included my entering the store, apart from when I found a really massive one unlike any other I have ever seen in my whole entire life.

Ceiling-height glass boxes lined the window displays, and inside these little boxes with fake grass flooring... Puppies! Brown puppies, black puppies, spotty puppies, block-coloured puppies, puppies with blue eyes, puppies with brown eyes, the list could grow forever. They were adorable, licking the glass with short pink tongues, pulling each others tails and ears, my heart thudded with affection for the baby dogs. This time I didn't ask Chell for permission to enter, and walked right in, a little bell on the door singing happily at my grand entrance. She did however, run after me, and so we both ended up gazing with wonder at all the different creatures that lay within. It was a pet shop! And a big one at that!

Cats, dogs, fish, guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits, snakes, lizards, even these little water-dweller things called terrapins. I had never seen so many animals in one place, not ever. In fact, I had only seen most of them on the TV, apart from the few cats and dogs I see milling around our street, some with, and some without their owners. My jaw dropped, this place was... Epic. Epically awesome. Every awe-filled word on the planet, they must all gather here. I think I liked the puppies best, or maybe the kittens, perhaps even the little guinea pigs. The terrapins, well not so much. Sure, they didn't look too bad, and they couldn't help it, but they lived in water. Yuck. Chell was watching me, trying not to burst out laughing, though I wasn't so sure what was funny. Perhaps my infantile reaction to a bloody pet shop, or maybe my evident decision to keep away from the water tanks on my far left. I didn't even care.

"Can I have a-"  
"No," Chell interrupted.  
"Puppy?"  
"No."  
"Just a little one?"  
"No."  
"Why not?" I whined, really acting the half my age.  
"Because you're not responsible enough!"  
"You let us have a baby!"  
"And look what happened to that!"

Okay, I'll admit that brief comment from Chell stung, though it was nothing but the truth. Of course I didn't want an argument, I wanted a pet. So I took it in, let it burn a few layers off my heart, and released it from my mind.  
"What about a kitten?" I pleaded.  
"No."  
"Hamster?"  
"No!"  
"Guinea pig?"  
"No!"  
"Fish?"  
"Shut up Wheatley. No."  
"But-"  
"What part of shut up do you not understand?" Chell scolded me, pushing the shop door open and leaving. Of course like the sheep I am, I followed, leaving the tiny puppies with their pleading eyes behind.

"Are you mad at me?" I asked gently, following a silent Chell. No reply.  
"Chell?"  
"No... I'm not mad," Chell murmured, smiling and grabbing my hand. I pushed a long stream of air from my mouth, relieved.  
"What's wrong then?"  
"I feel bad. For saying that stuff."  
"You mean, you didn't really honestly mean 'no'? I can have a pet?" I squealed happily, eyes gleaming.  
"No! Just what I said about the baby."  
Oh. My gleam was put out, the grin dropped. "That went in and out of me luv, I don't mind. You had a right to be angry, I'm a pain in the neck sometimes," I owned it, smiling again.  
"You sure?"  
"Absolutely one hundred percent guaranteeing you!"

All tension cleared, we carried on our search. Before long we winded up in this posh department store, with racks and racks of dresses and suits. Chell offered me suit after suit after suit. I offered each one a rude comment or a firm no.  
"It looks like something a... Geek would wear!" I complained at the tenth suit. It was pure black with a traditional white shirt and a tie.  
"No it doesn't! Do you even know what that is, or are you just trying to think of every insult you have ever heard Rick say?"  
"Second option..." I muttered, defeated.  
"Okay, go try this on then."

Physically trying it on proved difficult, and not because I was stubborn. How the heck do you make a tie go into a knot?! Ugh, it ended up curled in a ball in the corner of the changing room as I opened the curtain to show Chell, who was waiting patiently outside.  
"Where's the tie," her eyes narrowed, and I blushed.  
"Well... I... Er... Sounds stupid but... I er... Couldn't work out how to tie it."  
She smiled sympathetically, picking it up from my discarded clothes on the floor, and, hands moving like lightening, she wrapped it around the collar of my shirt and knotted it perfectly.

"Oh... Er thanks luv. Do you like it?"  
Chell tipped her head on one side questioningly, then pulled a face and shook her head. I smiled happily, because I didn't like it either. After a moment of contemplating, Chell fished my black jeans and casual white shirt from the floor, took off my jacket, and folded them all on top of each other.  
"Try this as an outfit."  
So I did.

The mirror glittered before me, revealing the latest outfit. My own jeans and shirt held a beautiful sense of casual familiarity, but the suit jacket gave it a new sleek that wasn't there before. Granted, my lanky body held no shape, and the jacket was baggy and slightly short on the sleeves, but you could hardly tell. I think this was the best bet, better than a suit at any rate. With a dramatic flourish, I whooshed open the curtain for Chell to see. With a happy grin, she nodded enthusiastically.  
"That's it! Perfect!"  
"You think?"  
"Definitely! You don't like suits, do you?"  
"No," I smiled. She knew me so well, it was a beautiful sensation.  
"My turn to find an outfit," Chell grimaced. I don't think she was a particular fan of dressing up either.

Okay, so I thought I was bad at choosing clothes! Everything Chell tried on looked astonishingly gorgeous to me, but to her nothing was quite right. One made her look 'fat' another made her look 'shapeless' one made her boobs look 'too small', she was a complete and utter nightmare. And if the bloody thing didn't make her look imperfect, it apparently clashed with what I would be wearing! Who would have known black and white could ever clash, seriously!  
"They all look nice, hurry up and grab any!" I complained, annoyed.

"I can't," Chell retorted, getting slightly frustrated at me too. "Go if you're that bothered, I'll call you when I'm done."  
"I will!" My voice raised of its own accord, and I felt instantly guilty. To make up for it, I handed her my battered brown leather wallet.  
"Use mine," Was all I said, before kissing Chell's nose and leaving the store before my soppy side took pity and returned for more stand-around-doing-nothing-whilst-Chell-flapped-around-in-a-dress-shop torture.

No prizes for guessing where I winded up. The pet shop again, of course. It was so tempting to get a puppy now Chell wasn't strictly forbidding it in my ear. Well, she still forbid it, but without anyone here to enforce that rule, I found my obedience slipping. The problem - I didn't actually have my wallet. No wallet means no money. No money means no pet. Unless...

One puppy in particular caught my eye. He had a thick coat, sandy coloured, with a black patch over one eye. His little tail wagged happily, and tiny black and pink paw-pads pressed against the glass longingly. I could almost see a halo whizzing around his head. A long pointy tongue licked the glass mournfully, probably wishing it was my hand. So, I looked around. The shopkeeper was out back, sorting cans of cat food into pyramids. She couldn't see me, and wouldn't be done for a while. I wasn't even sure she knew I was here. So carefully, and ever so gently, I lifted the tiny puppy from his glass cage, hugging the ball of fur against my chest securely. His tail wagged faster, I'm surprised it managed to stay on.

That little pink tongue darted onto my hand, and I grinned as the puppy scampered up my chest to lick my throat and chin affectionately. Ugh, it was like falling in love all over again, this time with a puppy. And no, not in a romantic way. Just in an 'awww I found my perfect little buddy' sort of way. The stupid half of my brain generated another terrible idea, although it did hold some appeal, because the outcome - if I succeeded - would be having the dog. It was on the other hand very risky, and I didn't want to get caught.

As quietly as possible, so as not to alert anyone, I zipped up my jacket halfway, and gently placed the tiny puppy inside, cradling him softly. At first he kicked, but then he settled down and didn't move. Apart from adding a few pounds to my waistline, you could never tell I had an animal down there. Problem sorted, mission accomplished, I had a pet! However, I wasn't sure how long he would stay mine, because Chell seemed pretty adamant I wasn't able to look after one. I had the love in me to rescue my puppy from that minuscule glass cage where he got constantly harassed by other dogs, didn't I? If I can do that, surely I've beaten the hardest part? Half of me wasn't so sure.

My mind scrambled to remind me that something wasn't right here as I sneaked out the store. But I couldn't put my finger on it. A word sprung to mind - stealing - but I couldn't actually remember what it meant. Maybe it was similar to borrowing? Before, I borrowed Rick's game console, and he freaked out because I forgot to ask him first. Then I told him, and he stopped worrying and didn't even care. So I'm ninety-nine percent sure this is all okay. Although a gut instinct told me not to admit this 'borrowing' to anyone else, which is odd. Stealing... Is it wrong? For the life of me, I couldn't recall.

All of a sudden, my phone started vibrating in my jacket pocket, causing the poor puppy to squirm slightly. Ignoring the fact that to the unsuspecting public I would look like I had a self-repulsing stomach, I fished the berserk little thing out, and held it to my ear.  
"Hello?" I asked, though I knew it could only really be Rick or Chell. Most likely the latter, since she promised to call me when she had finished shopping.  
"Hey, Wheatley." Yup, Chell's amazing voice rang in my ear, and a grin lit up my face.  
"Hi luv, how's it going?"  
"Great!" She exclaimed happily. "I found a dress! The queue is kinda long though, but after that we can leave the bags in the car and go out to eat somewhere."  
"Car?" I questioned. Neither of us could drive, and we didn't even own a vehicle.

"I didn't tell you? Oh, well Rick texted me, he said he's bored and he's meeting us here. He'll be with me in about five minutes, he's gonna give me his spare car key and go 'exploring'. Then when we're done, he'll drive us home."  
"Cool!" I grinned even wider. I could ditch the dog in the car, since Chell would pick up on my tummy moving immediately - she's got an eye for that sort of thing. S'all good, s'all good.  
"I'm in the same shop you left me in so could-"  
"I'm on my way!" I cut her off, starting to hurry towards the big department store again. "Love you!"  
"Love you too Wheatley. Bye." And Chell hung up, leaving me smiling into the phone like a lunatic.

In the heat of the moment 'visit' to the pet shop, I had completely forgotten just how giant this shopping centre truly is. However, just as I started to panic if I might be lost, a familiar voice called to me from across the mall.  
"Wheatz!" Rick called, heading towards me and pulling me into a quick hug, unsuspectingly crushing my waist. It emitted a surprised yelp, and I copied the strange sound again, to cover up.  
"You feeling alright?" Rick asked, eyebrow raised. "You just... Squeaked."  
"You just... Er... Surprised me, yeah! You just gave me a shock, so I yelped. Bit odd, so sorry. It's just, you don't usually hug me," I rambled, desperately trying to protect my dog's backside. Rick bought it at least.  
"So, I hear Chell got you shopping for fancy clothes, huh?" He nudged me, laughing. "You hate suits, how did that go?"  
"Ehhh," I muttered vaguely, tipping my hand backwards and forwards in a so-so gesture.  
"That well, huh? What's the special occasion anyways, you guys tied the knot or something? I didn't get an invite!"  
"What knot?" I frowned, baffled. I had no idea what Rick was talking about.  
"Oh, never mind," he sighed, rolling his bright green eyes. "What's the occasion, if you can manage to answer that?"

"Course I can!" I retorted, giving him a gentle shove. "Some Christmas party Chell's been invited to, she wants me to come."  
"Ooh, a fancy-shmancy top hat party, eh? I prefer raves, myself."  
"Since when have you ever been to a rave?" I demanded, discreetly allowing him to lead the way, since I wasn't one hundred percent on what direction to go.  
"A while ago," Rick waved his hand, obviously ignoring any indication of time. I accepted this as him lying, and said no more.

Rick navigated us to Chell easily, and I grabbed her in a giant hug as we crept into the queue with her.  
"So, what did ya get?" Rick clamoured, pointing to the dress draped over her left arm. She held it up, and my mouth fell open. Wow. It was beautiful, white and cut so it would rest just above the knee, with little white beads encrusting the neck line and bodice with cute pearly flowers. My hand reached out to touch it, whilst Rick wolf-whistled.  
"Niiiice," he commented in admiration. "You're a lucky man, Wheatz."  
"I am," I sighed, struck dumb for a moment. How did someone like me wind up with somebody as kind and beautiful and amazing as Chell? Now, there's one mystery nobody could ever solve.

The queue was unnaturally slow, as well as long, and Rick provoked me into our bored lets-act-like-children routine, which I think annoyed Chell. We started wrestling, attempting to grab each other in a headlock or push the other one away from the line. Our laughter and shouts could probably be heard a mile away, but we didn't honestly care. It was fun. Some humans are just too serious in this world.

"Do you have to fight right now?" Chell sighed, grabbing Rick around his waist with one arm and pulling him away from me.  
"Yeah!" He answered her question sulkily, standing up straight and rubbing his hands on his trousers for no reason. At least, I don't think they were dirty or anything, I could be wrong.  
"Hey, leave Chell alone," I said in a casual but stern tone, patting her back softly.  
"Leave Chell alone, huh?" Rick laughed, and punched me lightly in the stomach. I kicked his shins, and pretty soon we were at it again, trying to knock each other over completely.

For me, the queue went surprisingly quickly, but that was probably because I was having a good time mucking around with Rick. Perhaps for Chell it went a little - Or a lot - slower. At any rate, eventually we winded up outside the shop, and I literally just remembered about the puppy in my jacket and how I had been fighting with Rick and it hadn't made any noises or moved at all, which wasn't normal. I patted my stomach worriedly, to feel nothing but my own flesh underneath the material.  
"Oh God..." I muttered under my breath, running my hands down my sides as if the rascal could have realigned himself to somewhere else on my person. I should be so lucky. He must have escaped in the shop for fear of being crushed during the fight. I am totally crap at being a pet owner, why didn't I listen to Chell when she said I wasn't responsible enough? I mean, it's not like she's ever wrong in comparison to me. Speaking of Chell, she looked up at me, a confused expression planting itself amongst her smooth face.

"Wheatley, what's wrong? You look really worried, and your cheeks have gone all flushed," Chell asked me, trying to analyse my thoughts and feelings.  
"N...no...nothing," I stammered, looking down and to the left nervously. Not much was happening there, just the same old floor tiles shining gleefully, revealing a dodgy outline of my reflection. Intelligence dampening core could sum up my brain right now. Chell glanced at me, and looked away quickly. Unfortunately, not even she knew what to do with me.  
"I... Erm... I feel like an idiot for saying this, but I actually think I dropped my phone back in there," I lied, shifting my balance and trying a weak fake smile. "You two go to the car, and I'll meet you in like ten minutes."  
"You want us to help?" Rick grinned, standing up straighter at the very thought of any type of mildly adventurous scenario.  
"No!" I interrupted quickly, earning two very startled gazes. "I mean, no, it's fine. I'd rather look myself, more focused, if you get me."  
They both nodded, agreeing with my made up excuse, and headed off together, chatting and relentlessly teasing each other like a pair of squabbling siblings. With an anxious smile, I waited for them to turn the corner, then bolted back into the department store, eager to find the puppy and put my mind at rest.

Honestly, I didn't have to look for very long. I was stopped as soon as I entered by some security guard with enough muscles to lift a lorry. He looked like he hadn't shaved in a while, so thick, wiry stubble lined his cheeks and chin, and I took one step back from this intimidating person.  
"Have you lost a puppy?" He asked, voice deep and stern.  
"Well..." I muttered, really not liking the looks of this bloke.  
"Have you?" His tone was demanding, and certainly not one to be messed with.  
"Yes. Sandy coloured, black patch over one eye."

The grumpy man stormed off, and I assumed I had to follow, so set my pace gingerly, a few metres behind him. I don't like the thought of my puppy being left with this titan. We came to a door marked 'staff only', and the security guard motioned for me to stay put whilst he charged inside. After a few tense minutes, just as I began to consider going in there myself, the man reappeared, put of breath and holding my squirming puppy at arms length.

"My dog!" I grinned, grabbing the little ball of fur and holding it close. "Thank you!"  
"Dogs aren't allowed in here. He ran a mockery of everybody, and some of our customers left because they are afraid of dogs, or allergic to dogs. Get out!" With every utterance of the word 'dog' he spat and prodded my arm furiously. Great, I would probably end up with a bruise there later, another thing to have to make an excuse about.  
"Sorry mate, I-"  
"I am not your mate! Leave right now before I drag you and your deranged mutt to the police station!"  
"Whoa! Calm down, I'm going!" I exclaimed, backing away before eventually turning my back on the stranger and slipping out of the oversized exit. That was a little too close. I never will get used to the hostility within some humans. Although, perhaps I should be more cautious in the future; my puppy is obviously one for trouble. Or 'adventure', as Rick so fondly calls it.

Speaking of Rick, I suppose I should go find him and Chell. And somehow smuggle my dog into the car without being caught. Now there's a challenge. Until then, I put the puppy back in my coat and hoped he wouldn't make another daring escape. However, can't say I'd blame him, I mean I remember all too well being trapped - in that glass box back in Aperture... Whilst Chell was being tortured... I shuddered at the memory, my mind stained with all the blood and tears shed that day. No, now was not the time to start worrying, or hallucinating, or breaking down... Or worse. I need to get a lock-down on my thoughts - one hundred percent clearance of Aperture. Well, ninety-nine percent, some of those times were alright. Meeting Chell, for example. Apart from that, my life would be a lot easier if I tried not to think of That Place.

"There you go, daydreaming again," I muttered to myself, then chuckled softly. "And now you're talking to yourself, first sign of madness that is, Wheatley."  
With my insanity clearly intact, I slowly made my way back to the car park, which was a tedious journey for me, since I had to keep stopping to inspect maps. Honestly, my sense of direction isn't so good. But, taking that in my stride, like water under a duck's back, (was that the correct terminology? Maybe it was water off a bridge?), I did eventually reach my destination. Like a sat-nav. Satellite navigation, I wonder if I ever used to show up on one of those, being so close to all the satellite dishes up in space. Well, perhaps not, that wouldn't make much sense. Still, an interesting thought for the uninterested human population.

"Wheatley! What took you so long?" Rick called to me, waving me over.  
"I... Er..."  
"Got lost? It's okay, it happens," he reassured me. Wait, what?! Rick... Reassuring? When did that occur? Something bad must have happened. Hopefully not too bad.  
"Wheatley," Rick began, coming a little closer towards me. "Chell said she would meet us back here at one, she wants to go home but she needs to buy some food for lunch etcetera etcetera, so we have half an hour. What d'ya wanna do?"  
"Oh, okay, that's fine. Erm, what to do, what to do?" I asked myself thoughtfully. "You can pick, I'm not too bothered. Try to stay within reason though!"

An unnatural kick walloped my stomach, and I looked down in shock. Do I have to tell Rick about my puppy, so I can put him in the car whilst Chell's away? He wouldn't object... Would he?  
"Rick, can I tell you something... A secret... Something you can't tell Chell?"  
"Sure mate, what is it?" Rick smiled, however his eyes looked slightly concerned. He's being a surprisingly good friend. Unlike me, upon a single glance at my friend I noticed the scar beneath his nose, where I punched him. Although, in saying that, I've got an equally obvious one in the upper corner of my lip, so we are kind of even.  
"Rick, what's it called when you take something that doesn't belong to you without their permission?"  
"Stealing. Why?"  
"Yeah. I sort of, kind of, accidentally stole a puppy."

His green eyes widened as he did a double take."You did what!"  
"Well, it wasn't stealing per se, I mean, I didn't pay for it sure, but that's because I was offering a good service, yeah. They should have been paying me, if I'm honest. They had dogs in tiny glass boxes, piled up like stacking chairs, all climbing on each other, you know, back-to-back, or tail-to-tail, however you see it. Horrible. So I saved one from a fate worse than death, I'll tell ya."  
"Wheatley!" Rick scolded, throwing his arms up in exasperation. "When will you learn?"  
"Learn what?"  
"You're hopeless, you know that? Where did you even put the poor creature?"

Watching Rick carefully from the corner of my eye, I gently lifted my doggy from my jacket, cradling him against my chest.  
"That is so adorable!" He cooed, stroking behind the puppy's ear. "But wrong. You shouldn't steal."  
"I know, I know. If I promise not to steal again, can I keep him?"  
"I don't live with you man, that's down to Chell!"  
"Wasn't planning on telling her, she doesn't think I'm responsible enough for a pet... After what happened with the... the baby."  
"She actually said that?" Rick murmured, looking up from my dog and into my eyes. I nodded.

"Damn, that is harsh. Well, perhaps not the responsibility bit, you're a little...Irresponsible... But ignore whatever she said about the baby. You are totally smart enough, more than you need to be to start a family. Just please, never forget that what happened was an accident. For me? I feel terrible about how I acted, it's the least I can do."  
"Wow, thanks mate. That means a lot." I grinned, opening the car boot and placing the wriggly puppy inside.

"So, have you named him? Or her?" Rick quickly lifted the puppy into the air. "Him. Have you named him?" he amended, looking up at me expectantly.  
"Not as of yet."  
"Any thoughts?"  
"Nope. You can name him. Within reason of course, no stupid adventure names."  
"Oh, erm, okay. Call it Wheatley, he has your butt," Rick laughed, and I couldn't help but crease up too.  
"Why thank you for that. But c'mon, seriously now, this little guy needs a name."  
"Erm, I dunno! Russell?"  
"Russell," I smiled. "He looks like a Russell."

"Hey look, Russ is wagging his tail in agreement," Rick laughed, sitting on the edge of the car and being licked to death by a very excited little puppy.  
"More like wagging his tongue, look at it go! And seriously, 'Russ'? Do you find a shortened version of every name, because you've already come up with 'Wheatz' and now it's 'Russ'. You'll try and shorten Chell's name next!"  
"Naah, I leave one syllable names alone usually."  
"Usually..." I repeated with an affectionately exasperated sigh.

"Oh, crap!" Rick suddenly muttered, looking at his watch. "S'nearly one, Chell will be here any minute. What exactly do you plan to do with the dog?"  
"Urhm, he can sit in the boot right?"  
"What, and we just pray she doesn't see him?" Rick flicked his eyebrows in an upwards frown.  
"Yeah. Sounds plausible."  
"Okay, but if he poops in my car I will kill you."  
"Why me? Why not Russell?" I questioned, thoroughly confused.  
"Because I like dogs," Rick smirked, closing all the doors to his car with a loud thud.  
"You don't like Wheatleys?" I pretended to look hurt, eyes large and hopefully somewhat puppy-like.  
"Sometimes," Rick chuckled, and as our eyes met, we burst out laughing.

Neither of us noticed Chell approach, and it was quite a shock when her voice cut through the noise of our rowdy guffaws.  
"What's so funny?" She demanded, smiling inquisitively.  
"Him!" We both cried in unison, pointing to the other, then laughed again, punching fists.  
"Glad you're both having fun. Did you find your phone Wheatley?"  
"Erm... What?" I asked, seriously baffled. "What are you talk-"  
"He did," Rick interrupted, jabbing my ribcage hard and muttering something along the lines of 'dog'.  
"Oh right yeah, found it, I found it luv," I breathed out, all in a rush, tripping over my words like a clumsy person would hurdles. Chell rolled her deep grey eyes, and pushed through our guard to open the boot.

"Wait!" Rick suddenly yelped, pressing his arm over the back of the car. "I'll put the shopping in there, you can just get in the car."  
"That's kind..." She looked between us suspiciously. "Thank you. I think." And just like that, she let us be, and walked slowly round to the front of the car.  
"Phew, that was close!" I told Rick aloud, and he shoved me hard. "Shh!" He whispered, and placed the bag of edibles next to an extremely hyper Russell. "He won't eat it, will he?"  
"Do dogs eat bread?"  
"Dunno. Think they eat anything," Rick informed me, looking at my puppy and frowning slightly.

"Hmph. C'mon, I wanna go home. And incase I don't have a chance to say this later: look after Russell well! No funny business with him, he's a dog - not a person or a toy!"  
"Yes. I will," I sighed outwardly, acknowledging Rick's warning, and turned to join Chell in the car. Rick followed, starting the engine quickly and pulling away from Applevale Shopping Centre.

**Chell POV -** Rick and Wheatley had been acting odd ever since I returned. I shouldn't leave those two by themselves, they get into so much trouble. But on the other hand, they're not kids, despite their immaturity. However, I feel some sort of responsibility to look after them, because Rick and Wheatley are best friends, and both of them are equally clueless. Someone has to stop them from playing in traffic or causing other forms of mass destruction.

At any rate, as soon as Rick parked, the boys leapt at the chance to unpack the car, and sent me off to 'rest inside'. God knows what had gotten into them both. Then, Wheatley kept shooting Rick questioning looks. The only thing that had not changed was how they wolfed down lunch and ran off, except they ran off upstairs, which was odd. Usually Rick encourages Wheatley to go do some dangerous or extreme activity. Rick stayed for dinner, and then left. Wheatley ran upstairs again, which surprised me most. Usually he hovers around, getting in the way as I tidy the kitchen, sitting on the work tops or deciding he wants to hug it kiss me when I'm halfway through washing up. I shouldn't complain, he means well. I never thought I'd miss him getting under my feet, it was really weird of him to not be.

**Wheatley POV -** I had set up camp in the bathroom, sitting cross legged on the floor with Russell scampering around having a whale of a time. I only left him to eat, which definitely aroused suspicion. Although, I'm sure Chell wouldn't investigate. Or rather, I hoped.  
"What are you doing? No, don't try and climb that! It's a toilet! Where humans... You know. Or you don't know, being a dog and all. Well, anyway, stop mucking around!" I told him, pulling the fidgety puppy onto my lap and stroking him gently. "Do you ever sleep Russell? Nap time? You've been running around all day! Go to sleep, eh, for me?"  
In reply, Russell tugged on my shirt sleeve, getting it all wet with his slobber. "Yuck! I like this top! Get off!"

He tumbled from my lap, claws skittering across the wooden panels, and barked twice, quite loudly.  
"Nono! Shh! You'll make Chell come up here and-"  
"And what?" Chell suddenly interrupted, hearing me from the bottom of the stairs and starting to jog up them.  
"Gah!" I cried, looking for a place to hide Russell.  
"Wheatley, what are you doing in there? Who are you talking to?"  
"No...nobody. Well, obviously somebody, but... Myself. Talking to myself."  
"So you won't mind me coming in then?" She asked sternly, right outside the door, about to enter  
"I... Erm... I... But... Wait..."

Glaring at the door in desperation confirmed I had forgotten to lock it, so I was pretty screwed. Chell opened it, knowing I always forget about locks, and gasped.  
"Wheatley!" She shouted, looking at the sandy-coloured puppy hiding behind me, frightened. I grinned innocently, readying myself to get told off. Well, here goes nothing.  
"Can we keep him?" I asked, smiling.


	17. Chapter 16

**AN/... Sorry I haven't updated in ages, I've been really ill (Yup, I truly am a walking disaster). But hey, have another chapter! Please review ;). Enjoy!**

**Chapter 16 - Sweat, Tears, and a Whole Lotta Dog Slobber**

**Wheatley POV -**  
"I can't believe you!" Chell cried, frowning distastefully. "You can't just get a pet, and dogs are high maintenance! I mean, have you thought about the training, the feeding, the bathing, the walking, the attention, the vet care? Do you even have the right supplies to keep it alive?"  
"What supplies?" I smiled confusedly, hugging Russell tightly.  
"Where do I start? A food bowl, a water bowl, a lead, a collar, a bed, a dog brush, dog food, dog toys, dog shampoo, and you need to register it at the vets!"  
I shook my head. That was a lot of things, I had already forgotten most of them.  
"It's okay, I can go get them now."  
"The shops will be closed, it's late Wheatley."

"But... If I get all the supplies... can we keep him?" I asked hopefully, although I expected a negative reply.  
"Well, I don't know... A pet is something you have to agree on with everyone."  
"Rick agreed!" I objected, looking up at Chell with hopeful eyes, like a child at a sweet shop.  
"I'm sure he did, but Wheatley, he won't be looking after it. We're just not ready for a pet."  
"Why not?" I demanded, feeling like a sulky toddler.  
"Because... Because..." Chell gulped. There was definitely something she wasn't telling me. "Because I would prefer a..."  
"A what?" I prompted, standing up and embracing Chell. "A cat? We can get a cat instead?"  
"No, it's just..." She began, words fumbling, voice quivering slightly. God, something was definitely not right. A bolt of fear shot through me like a cold, hard bullet, as a small tear caught the light, glistening mournfully as it slid down Chell's lower eyelid.

"Wha... What? What's wrong?" I asked, desperation edging my voice, as I observed the tears. I hadn't encountered them very often, Chell was such a brave person, and it was rare to see her cry. If she's in tears, I know to be very, very concerned. Well, I wasn't so experienced with human emotions, so comforting others is difficult. But I had to try this time.

My arms slithered like a whisper under Chell's warm shoulders, curving until they met on her back. Her head rested against my chest, and I could feel another tear as it fell onto my shirt. Gulping, completely unsure of what to do, I just... Held her. The choking noises that escaped her throat sounded hurt, which in turn caused me a pain of its own, one nobody could ever understand.  
"Ch... Chell?" I stammered, cutting into the icy silence. "What's wrong luv?"

Feeling her swallow against my top, she withdrew from leaning against me, standing till her back was completely straight. My brave, strong girl. Ex test subject. Hard as nails. Whatever it was, we would get through it. I hoped.  
"It doesn't matter. I'm getting worked up for no reason," Chell whispered, but her eyes didn't meet mine, and her voice was strained, on the verge of cracking back into the tears.  
"You never get worked up for nothing," I chuckled once, an odd sound in the situation. But it made me feel better. A little laughter could clear a lot of pessimism, for me, at least. Chell looked no more happy, although I guess she was the exception, being the upset one here.

"Look, I might not be the best at comforting people, or keeping out of trouble, or being quiet or downright listening sometimes, but I promise - no I swear - I will always listen to you. Especially right now. I'll er... I'll shut up too, so that'll make the whole talking thing a little easier. Unless... Unless you want me to talk," another nervous laugh caught the edge of my words, but I continued valiantly. "Okay, I'll be honest, I have no idea what I'm doing. But it doesn't matter. Something's up, and I'm NOT leaving you alone till you tell me. Might regret this, but I don't care. Now, please, tell me!"

Slowly, like a cat creeping up on its prey, my fingers edged closer to Chell's cheek, then tried to catch a glistening tear. it disappeared between my grip, leaving a strange, wet residue. Irrelevant as it were, I hoped those weren't made of water. I wiped it off anyway, just in case, and turned my attention back to Chell, who seemed to find the whole situation rather amusing. Unsure whether that was a good thing or not, I simply shifted my weight uncomfortably, and as always, waited for someone else to take the reins.

Chell inhaled deeply, before lacing her fingers with mine and holding my hand on her cheek.  
"Honestly, it's nothi-" Chell began, but I interrupted immediately.  
"Nonono! I want to listen, no matter how big or small this is. Although I'm pretty sure it's a very big thing."  
"Well, I suppose, rather than a dog... I, I've been thinking about it and... Well I would prefer a family."

A shock washed through me. Family... She still wants a family even though I messed everything up last time. I opened my mouth as though to speak, but no sound escaped. A strangled sound left my throat, and then a sudden flood of words streamed out, as if my voice box just cleared a blockage and had to make up for lost time doubly fast.  
"I-what? You want a... Me... But what about... I mean I-I-I..." Sighing, I shook my head, trying to shake off the stupid stutter. "I don't understand."  
But I did understand. I knew what she meant, however the reasoning was unclear to me.

"We don't have to... I didn't think you'd want to..." Chell looked down. Maybe... Was this emotion pain? I couldn't be sure. When she was being tortured, that was pain. This doesn't look like that. Ugh, humans have too many different ways to hurt.  
"No! Don't get me wrong luv, I'm... I'm kind of happy, but why? I shouldn't be trusted, even I know that," I struggled to explain, because it's not like Chell to waltz straight back into danger. Yeah, she'll face it, but only if she has to. Not like Rick's bravery, he'll try to find dangerous situations and beat the hell out of them, no, Chell lives on a whole different level of courage. So why was she putting herself in danger now, asking me for a family when last time I ruined everything? That was what I couldn't comprehend. And I definitely didn't want a replay of last time.

"Look luv, course I want to. I just... Shouldn't, is all. You'll get hurt again, we found that out the hard way last time. I'm... I'm a walking disaster zone. I don't understand why you want to try for a lost cause."  
"Because it isn't a lost cause!" Chell replied, looking determined to prove her point. And when Chell is determined, there's no going back.  
"Can't you see? I don't want to hurt you like that again!" I cried, feeling distress pulse through my heart as I remembered that day.

"Look," Chell began, taking a step closer to me. I stepped away, intimidated but mostly scared. This phased her slightly, but not for long. "Look. I wouldn't decide this if I didn't completely trust you. Besides, the past should stay exactly where it belongs, behind us. There really is no need for you to be afraid, but if you don't want to go through with this, I'm okay with that as well. I just don't want you bailing because you're scared for me, rather than yourself."

My brain whirred, absorbing what Chell just said, allowing it to slowly sink in. Of course, I realised she was probably correct, and smiled weakly, mentally exhausted from all this... _Thinking_. "I'm in."  
"What?" Chell glanced up, surprised.  
"I'm in," I repeated, louder, wondering if her response was because she didn't hear me first time around.  
"No, I did hear you. I'm just... Surprised."  
"Pleasantly surprised?" I questioned anxiously.  
"Of course," Chell grinned, hugging me tightly. After a second of confusion, my arms wrapped around her, and I buried my face in her hair.

"Usually my surprises suck, so I'm sorry. There are no mashy spike plates involved though, so we're good."  
Chell laughed, it was a sweet sound, one I wish I could listen to all day.  
"Are you definitely sure?" she asked, looking directly into my eyes. Her gaze was hypnotic, I couldn't turn away.  
"I am one hundred percent positive there are no mashy spike plates involved."  
"No silly! I meant about the... Family."  
I want a... A family. With you. S...sounds weird when I say it, doesn't it? Well, I mean it in a good, non-weird way," quickly, in a clumsy, uncoordinated fashion, I scooped Chell's hands up in my own, cupping them to my heart. It quickened in response to her warm touch, causing us both to smile.

"S-see! H-human! Living creatures have a natural instinct to settle down, right? Well... I choose you. I want to be with you until the end of time. I say that because I don't know the life span of a human... Which is bad because I am one. But... Well I'm rambling anyway. What I am trying - and failing - to say is: I love you. I'm there for you. To catch you when you fall. Although it's usually me doing the falling, cause I'm bloody clumsy. You... You get what I mean though... I hope." An awkward, lopsided grin shifted onto my face, and I winced, hoping my declaration of commitment was clear despite my rambling and stuttering and all around stupidity.

"I love you too," Chell smiled, standing on her tiptoes and pecking my cheek gently.  
"So. Family. Me and you. In the future. Got it."  
Chell nodded, still beaming, and left me to my own devices. Which was probably a bad idea.

A soft bark filled my ears, and I looked down at my tiny puppy mournfully. We can't have a dog and a family, at least that's what Chell implied. Plonking myself on the cold floor, I scooped up the sandy coloured dog with his unique patch covering one eye in a shade of nighttime black, looking at him thoughtfully. I couldn't bear to take him back to the pet shop, besides he's... What did Rick call it? He's stolen. Which is not good. I heard that there's this place some people leave animals when they can't look after them anymore, and they get taken to a new home. But Rick said if nobody wants them, they're taken to this room and... And killed. A gulp shook my throat, and Russell nudged me pleadingly, as if he possessed telepathic skills.  
"Don't worry mate, I won't let anybody hurt you. It's nothing personal, I'm just not good enough to look after you. We'll find you someone good though, somebody better than me."

I smiled sadly as Russell licked my hand. An odd custom, but one of affection to dogs. It then occurred to me that I had to see this little guy, I had become weirdly attached. Well... That's what happens with... What do human's call them? Pets? At least, thats what I learnt when I got overly curious when I saw my first dog, and Rick had to do all the explaining. Suddenly, an idea sprung to mind, and whether it was a great one or not, I just HAD to go through with it. No really, I had to, my whole personality revolves around generating unworkable plans which I cannot help but think are genius at the time. Unworkable plans which sometimes actually succeed!

"What are you doing?" Chell called to me as I ran past her and charged down the stairs carrying a rather scared looking puppy.  
"Sorting out the dog!" I replied, pulling on my shoes and unlocking the front door.  
"What do you mean? Oh, just be careful with him, okay?" Chell warned, looking worried. I had heard before about some people who kill puppies, Chell told me it was because the owners couldn't handle them anymore. Maybe that's what Chell thought l was going to do.  
"Don't worry, I won't drown him!" I yelled, earning one very pale, sick glance from Chell as I finally left the house. Maybe I should have said I wouldn't kill Russell in any way at all. Oh well.

**Rick POV** - Damn, I had a bad headache. Stupid human body. As I lay on my sofa, the TV a soft background buzz, I felt that same feeling I get all too often, loneliness. Cold, harsh, bitter loneliness. I'm the only one who escaped Aperture and managed to wind up alone. Sure, I got Chell, and Wheatley is my best pal, but I don't live with them. And I hate the feeling of intruding on them all the time, like I'm just an annoying bug which they can't quite reach to swat. Of course, even that annoying nerd Fact Core and that babbling space-obsessed scrap metal left me as soon as pink-eyes was done whinging over being a _'weak human whose shape is not one of a superior polygon or sphere',_ and wandered off without me. Not that I'd want to hang out with them. But constant company would be pretty neat.

Just as that thought crossed my scrambled brain, a rough knock spluttered against my wooden front door, and I stood up quickly, curious as to who it could be. Wheatley usually hangs out with Chell in the evening, and I couldn't imagine him giving up that time for, well me. However, opening the door confirmed that, strangely enough, Wheatley was here. He had obviously put his jacket on in a hurry, because it was inside out, and he had Russell tucked gently enough under one arm.

"Hello!" he grinned, all enthusiasm and glowing skin.  
"Hey," I smiled back, standing aside for him to enter. "What's up?"  
"I... Erm... Nothing, nothing's up, just a-visiting, you know? Got something to tell you, and then something to ask you, but it's all positive, absolutely nothing is wrong! Least, not yet, anyways. I suppose something could go wrong, like I could trip over and break my nose, or a meteor could hit the house, or a bolt of lightening could set the street on fire, that would be REALLY bad! Or maybe-"  
"Yeah, I get the idea mate," I laughed hard, leaning against the wall.

"Sorry, sorry, I was rambling! I don't mean too, it just... Happens. Not sure why. Probably because... Oh, well actually I don't know. But- gah I'm at it again! Sorry! I'm stopping see, stopping. Stopped."  
"Stopped," I sighed, repeating in a bemused fashion. "So, what did'ya wanna talk 'bout? Or ask me? Whatever."  
"Oh, right, yeah!" He exclaimed, as if remembering an important bout of speech he previously missed out. Actually, knowing Wheatley, that probably did happen.

"Hm. It's a long story. I think." Wheatley told me, looking confused by his own statement.  
"You must know if the story you're about to tell is long or not!" I shook my head, exasperated.  
"Well, I dunno whether when I begin talking I'll compress it all in one big rush of speech or not. Or whether I'll start rambling, so it becomes insanely long. See, I just don't know these things!"  
"You usually do a bit of both, so every story is extremely long and really difficult to make sense of, since you don't know how to express full stops in your speech."  
"Eh? Full stops?" Wheatley asked, looking at me with eyes holding the same intelligence as a goldfish.  
"Oh, it doesn't matter. Just get on with the story, does it have adventure?"  
"I... Erm... I don't think so..."  
"Hmph. Okay, go ahead Wheatz."

"Well," he began, rubbing temple thoughtfully. "I was trying to hide Russell from Chell, but that didn't really work out. See, the silly puppy barked, although I suppose I might have talked a little too loudly, and maybe acted slightly suspiciously, but, I think mostly it was down to the barking, which of course I did not do. So there you go, Chell discovered the puppy. Then she got a little peeved with me, which I didn't like very much, and she started asking me if I had any supplies to look after Russell, and I said 'what supplies', and she started listing all this stuff I've never even heard of before, I mean, like we're talking 'dog food' and a 'collar' and stuff. I thought dogs ate anything! Anyway, so I shook my head, and then she got a little more annoyed, and I kinda worried. But after her little rant, Chell sorta... Slowed down. She, she told me there was a reason, you know, why she didn't want the puppy, but she was reluctant to state the actual reason itself. Naturally I worried some more, so I stood up, and I think I might have just left Russell scampering around the floor, can't recall, but anyway, that's irrelevant. I... I hugged her I think, or something, and I encouraged her to tell me, and she did."

"What did she say?" I interrupted, getting rather hooked into the story, which probably wasn't a good idea, knowing Wheatley and his tendencies to leave major details out.  
"I was getting to that!" He declared indignantly, giving me a shove.  
"Okay, okay! Can't help it, this story sounds like the adventure is coming soon!"  
"Not all stories have adventure," Wheatley pointed out. "Some have romance or comedy or, I dunno, horror or something."  
"Is your story a horror story?" I snorted.  
"No, course not but-"  
"Well, adventure, comedy and romance makes a good mix, so carry on!"

Wheatley crossed his arms with frustration, and continued his story.  
"Where was I? Oh yeah, so Chell told me the reason. She said it's because she'd rather a family than a dog! Can you believe it! She trusts me again! After what happened last time and all! So, I agreed! I mean, I dunno when this is gonna happen, but hopefully soon! S'gonna be good, s'gonna be great!"  
"Wow," I intervened, shocked and in awe of Chell's valiant faith in Wheatley's parenting abilities. "That really is great!"  
"I know!" He beamed, eyes brighter than ever.

"So... What question does all this link to that includes me?" I asked, suspicious.  
"Ah, well, that's the thing. Chell wants a family instead of a puppy, so Russell sort of has to go. I was wondering, well hoping really, that you might take him in, so I can still see the little guy, you'll have a bit of company, and he won't have to one of those evil animal pounds where they kill dogs who cant get sold. It's a win-win situation, if I'm honest. Or rather, a win-win-win situation, since we'll all win, and there's three of us... I think. Yeah, three. Russell, you, me!" Wheatley grinned proudly at his mathematical breakthrough, and I rolled my eyes, smiling back. My eyes gleamed a brighter emerald than ever, anticipating the idea of my own puppy. That would be... Awesome. Adventurers sometimes need sidekicks, after all.

I stayed silent for a second though, letting his words sink in, like when you can't remember if a dream actually happened or not. Then my smile doubled in width, and I gave Wheatley a light punch on the shoulder. I'd seen guys do it on TV. Seemed legit.  
"Yeah, Wheatley, I'd love to have Russ! It'll be fun! I mean, I'm gonna train him, and take him outside, and... And... Thank you."  
"That's alright, but why'd you hit me?" Wheatley chuckled, elated with his own self-satisfaction. "I don't think I'd do such a good job of looking after the poor thing, anyways. I mean, I had no idea how to care for one, you seem to have a better knowledge, and if not, I'm sure you'll figure it out real quick, an adventure right?"  
"Yup. An adventure," I agreed, lifting the sandy coloured puppy from the floor, and cradling him happily.

**Chell POV** - As more and more time passed, I began to increasingly stress about Wheatley's whereabouts. His call of 'I won't drown him', never installed much confidence, just made him sound like a psychotic murderer contemplating how many techniques of slaughtering existed. Which, for the record, I know Wheatley isn't. But still, he doesn't understand, and the welfare of that little puppy could easily be endangered by Wheatley's care. Or his concept of 'care', at least.

Wheatley did eventually return, opening the front door in such a way the moon illuminated his face like an angel. Although he could be far from that, I wasn't sure. What I did know was the puppy wasn't with him, so I worried.  
"Wheatley," I breathed, standing from my perch on the steps and crossing the hallway towards him. He grinned down at me, pulling off his coat, which I realised was inside out, causing me to laugh despite my concern.

"What's so funny?" Wheatley demanded obstinately, crossing his arms in an offended manor.  
"Your coat was inside out, is all," I told him truthfully, forcing the giggles to a stop.  
"Oh. Well... I don't usually do that."  
"I know. Where's the dog?"  
"Dog?" He repeated in a moment of confusion, before realisation crossed his face. "Ohhhh, yeah, Russell! Gave him to Rick, he'll do a better job than me, and I'd quite like to take up on that offer you set earlier... You know. Well, I hope you do, I... I didn't mean that. Of course you remember, you're not brain damaged, I know that. See, I... I... Eyhm, I'm just digging myself into a bigger hole, aren't I?"

I sighed, nodding. Really, the brain damaged thing again? Thought we'd moved on from that. Although, well I suppose it would seem that way, what with my not speaking in Aperture. And, on a further note, after hearing my voice for the first time, Wheatley did congratulate me on not being brain damaged, so he obviously got so far as to figure that out. Wheatley's soft voice interrupted my inner-monologue, both of his large hands cupping my smaller ones, trapping them against his chest in an attempt to win my attention back again.  
"I'm sorry, Chell. I didn't mean it."  
"I know. It's alright," I smiled. I could feel his heart beat against my hands, as he kept them pinned there. It was strong, and kept up a slow beat that never faltered, never hesitated. Then, with no warning what-so-ever, he suddenly crushed his mouth against mine in a kiss, my hands lingering on his heart whilst his slid to my back. The beat remained, if a little faster, and I clung to it like a torch in the dark. Wheatley was my torch, my light, I needed him

**Wheatley POV - **  
"It's getting late..." I murmured, looking into Chell's sleepy eyes and pulling away from her, despite the kiss being completely brilliant.  
"Mmm..." She agreed, though leant towards me for another kiss. "No, really luv! You need to sleep," I pulled away for the second time, not trying to be mean, because, well if it wasn't for stupid human necessities I'd be happy to kiss her all night. But, Chell needed to sleep, and I didn't want her to get in trouble for sleep deprivation tomorrow. Although, the whole town loved Chell and hated me, so the blame would somehow veer back to me at any rate. Still, sleep's important. Sleep is useful.

"C'mon luv," I muttered, extending one warm hand for another. She took it, sighing, and we retreated upstairs, got into our pyjamas, and climbed into bed, exhausted. Chell curled up into a little ball, and I wrapped my arms around her, enveloping her in my body and emitting heat like a blazing fireplace. She fell asleep almost immediately, faster than usual, but I had no such luck. Something was bothering me, but I wasn't so sure what. I think, maybe, the whole I-so-messed-up-this-family-stuff-last-time thing. I mean, sure Chell was giving me a second chance, but what if I muck up again? What if she wasn't so forgiving? And who would blame her, I mean I... I... Well, there's no denying it, I pretty much killed our unborn child. Which was wrong, and the biggest accident of my life, next to turning evil back in That Place. Ugh, I must be the worst screw-up in the whole world. Or the best screw-up. Enough of a screw up to have no idea.

On the other hand, what if it didn't go wrong? What if everything went perfectly, and the world finally gave me the normal life I had been deprived of for so long? When have doubts ever stopped me before? I doubted I would survive turning on my flashlight, but I still tried it. And I'm still alive today, so it worked! If I never trust myself, I'll never achieve anything. Besides, Chell wants a family. Who am I to deny her that due to a silly fear? I'll just have to 'man up', as Rick calls it. Still, I couldn't help but worry. A lot.

**Rick POV** -  
"Shit!" I yelped, as I found Russell chewing the charging wires for my video game controllers. So that was a charger, a CD, half a cushion, a shoe, and the corner of my bedroom door. And I had only had him for a few hours. Short work.  
"What the hell is your problem?!" I yelled at the disobedient dog with his infinite nuclear-powered stomach. "You're like eight inches tall, how are you eating all of this? Worse thing is, I was absolutely fine until you gnawed something related to my game console, now I'm pissed! And I am, essentially, talking to a furry trash compactor, which is mad. You don't understand me, you're not intelligent, I dunno how people train animals. Wheatley has more brains than you, that's saying something!"

Russell's tail whipped under his body, although the reason behind it was unclear. A fear reaction, perhaps. Either way, I didn't appear to have the capacity to look after a pet, because everything was wrong. My legs collapsed underneath me, and I curled into a sphere against the wall, running my hands through my thick hair. Ignoring the sandy-coloured cannonball that clambered into my lap empathetically, I leant back, feeling the cold, hard plaster through my thin top. It sent a shiver through my spine, which I suddenly resented. It was a dark sensation, one that blackened my heart and choked my throat with strong yet wispy shadow hands. The worst kind, because as soon as you felt it, you couldn't help but accept the foreign emotion as a normal part of yourself.

Russell nudged me sympathetically, but I pushed him away angrily, fed up of this. Fed up of being me. Wheatley has an excuse to be a moron, he's an intelligence dampening sphere true and through. I don't, I used to be Rick before an Adventure Sphere, not designed by scientists or made from a collection of scrap metal and spare parts. So where's the human in me now? Because all humans know how to care for others, yet I can't figure out a dumb puppy. It doesn't make sense! Life really has it in for me!

Russell disappeared, scampering off to a different room, and I didn't have the energy to follow him, even though I knew he would probably chew another one of my possessions. I didn't care anymore, who am I to stop his canine instincts? I don't know how to train him anyway, so any attempts would be a big waste of time. Unfortunately, when I heard loud yelps and barks, I decided I probably should investigate what my puppy was doing. I found him, tail wagging excitedly, pawing a couple of large boxes, which I unceremoniously dumped in my empty dining room after they got forgotten when the last residents here moved out. Unlike Wheatley, I wasn't particularly curious, and never opened the cardboard crates. They had faded writing in black felt-tip scrawled on the outside, but I couldn't read it.

"You want me to look in the box, Russ?" I asked, kneeling beside him then slipping into a cross-legged position. Slowly, gently, as if handling an unexploded bomb, I slid my finger under the flap of the box, and lifted it to reveal the contents within...  
"Is that it?" I muttered, wrinkling my nose at the now opened box. It was stuffed full of books. "I'm not much of a reader, to be honest."  
Russell tugged on my hand with his little sharp teeth, and I pulled away in shock. "Ow! Okay, okay, I'll have a look!"

And so, I lifted the heavy pile of hardback books from the box, and let them drop onto the floor with a dusty thud.  
"The history of horses... The horse racing guide... Horses and ponies... Jeez, these guys are obsessed! Maybe they were horse fanatics, what's that to me anyway?" I looked at the brown puppy-dog eyes staring up at me, but their magic didn't work.  
"What?! I don't want your stupid horse books!"  
What Russell did next, I will never forget. He held some form of intelligence I never knew existed in dogs. He pushed all the books on horses aside, revealing a battered book hidden right at the bottom, underneath some awful-looking book about horses mating. I lifted it slowly, inspecting the ripped cover, and apprehensively turned the first page. The inside was miraculously undamaged. The book was a care book, not about horses, but about dogs.

"Awh, you little brain box, Russ!" I cried, tucking the book under my arm and ditching the mess we'd made in the dining room. I never went in there anyway. The dog followed, looking more proud than a mum watching her kid getting first prize, and as I folded my legs underneath me and snuggled into the sofa, he jumped up onto my lap. For the first time, I didn't push him off. It was a nice feeling, to have a pet curled up on your lap, I decided. Making sure I didn't stir Russell, I snagged the book under my elbow and lifted it up, beginning to read. And as I read, the confusion became knowledge, the wonder became wisdom.  
"You're gonna be a well looked after dog, Russ, this book covers everything! I'm gonna get dog supplies tomorrow, and then I can feed you proper dog food and train you up, and I'll walk you everyday!" Russell licked my chin, and I laughed happily. In a human world where smarts are hard to acquire, I was learning.


End file.
